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THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

LIBRARY 


THE  WILMER  COLLECTION 

OF  CIVIL  WAR  NOVELS 

PRESENTED  BY 

RICHARD  H.  WILMER,  JR. 


fhJ 


^iLMER  COLLECTION 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arcliive 

in  2010  witli  funding  from 

University  of  Nortli  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.arGhive.org/details/jackbensonslogorOOnort 


"  DAVY    AND   I   WERE   PERCHED   IN   THE  CROSSTREES.' 


JACK  BENSON'S  LOG; 


OR, 


AFLOAT    WITH    THE    FLAG    IN    '61. 


BY 


CHARLES   LEDYARD   NORTON. 


ILLUSTRATED    BY    GEORGE    GIBBS. 


Boston  : 
W.   A.   WILDE   &   COMPANY, 

25  Bromfield  Street. 


COPYRIGHT,    1895. 

By  W.  a.  WILDE  &  CO, 
All  ris^hts  reserved. 


JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

I.  A  Sailor  Boy's  Birthright 7 

II.  Secession  at  Rockledge 25 

III.  On  the  Danger  Line 38 

IV.  The  Saving  of  '' Old  Ironsides  " 58 

V.  Massachusetts  and  New  York  to  the  Rescue       ...  85 

VI.  Mutiny  or  Treason 93 

VII.  The  "Otter's"  First  Prize 122 

VIII.  A  Running  Fight 138 

IX.  Contraband  of  War 1 51 

X.  Our  First  Innings 161 

XI.  Contrabands  as  Coast  Pilots 175 

XII.  The  Slave  Driver  of  Santee 19c 

XIII.  "  Come  Aboard,  Sir  1 " 225 

XIV.  Iron  Against  Wood 252 

XV.  Iron  Against  Iron ,,  266 


603164 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 


"Davy  and  I  were  perched  in  the  crosstrees"    .     .     .     Fro}ttispiece 
"  Where  are  you  going  with  that  bag,  young  fellow  ?  "    .     .     .       42 

"  Old  Abe  was  elected,  you  say?  " gg 

Getting  into  action  off  Hatteras 168 

"  Come  aboard,  sir!" 238 


JACK    BENSON'S    LOG. 

CHAPTER   I. 

A    SAILOR    boy's    BIRTHRIGHT. 

T  JOHN  BENSON,  a  retired  officer  of  the  navy, 
A  J  was  born  in  the  ancient  seaport  town  of  Stony- 
haven  in  the  year  of  grace  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  forty-five,  and  of  the  independence 
of  the  United  States  the  sixty-eighth. 

Probably  I  am  thus  particular  in  detailing  the 
facts  of  my  appearance  in  this  world  from  early 
recollections  of  Thanksgiving  and  Fast  Day  procla- 
mations as  read  annually  from  the  church  pulpits 
of  my  native  town.  My  father  was  skipper  and 
part  owner  of  the  fishing  schooner  "Molly 
Pitcher,"  which,  when  she  was  not  hauled  out  on 
the  ways  undergoing  repairs  after  some  unusually 
rough  treatment  on  the  high  seas,  was  away  in 
pursuit  of  herring,  or  mackerel,  or  cod,  or  halibut, 
according  to  the  season  of  the  year  or  the  de- 
mands of  the  market. 

Built  for  the  Crowninshields  of  Salem  by  "  Kit" 

7 


8  JACK  Benson's  log. 

Turner,  she  served  her  owners  as  a  pleasure  yacht 
until  the  first  international  sailing  matches  were 
arranged  for  the  seasons  of  1812-14,  when  she, 
refitted  with  a  brace  of  long  thirty-twos  and  sundry 
carronades  in  broadside,  shipped  a  crew  of  North 
Shore  sailormen,  and  won  nearly  every  race  for 
which  she  entered,  whether  it  was  running  away 
from  lumbering  British  men-o'-war  or  capturing 
merchant  vessels  of  many  times  her  own  tonnage. 

When  I  was  old  enough  to  make  her  acquaint- 
ance she  was  still  stanch  from  stem  to  sternpost, 
and  so  tight  that  her  crew  used  to  say  "  she  did 
not  leak  enough  to  keep  her  sweet."  My  grand- 
father was  one  of  her  crew  when  she  took  in  a 
West  Indiaman  in  the  Bahama  Channel,  and  as  I 
look  up  from  my  library  table  I  can  see  the  old 
privateersman's  cutlass  and  brass-mounted  pistols 
hanging  against  the  chimney-piece  beside  Captain 
Abner  Shumway's  sword  and  cocked  hat. 

My  earliest  recollection  is  of  lying  awake  at 
night  and  listening  to  the  thunder  of  breakers  on 
the  rocky  headland  that  sheltered  Stonyhaven 
Harbor  and  seeing  my  mother  come  in  with  a 
frightened  face,  shading  the  candle  with  her  hand 
so  that  the  light  should  not  awaken  me.  Some 
silly  boyish  instinct  prompted  me  to  feign  sleep, 
and  she  presently  kissed  me  softly  and  went  out. 


A    SAILOR    BOY  S    BIRTHRIGHT.  9 

The  revolving  light  on  the  cape  was  distant  only  a 
short  mile  from  my  father's  house,  and  was  visible 
from  the  tiny  square  window  of  my  little  sleeping- 
room.  From  earl}'  infancy  I  had  habitually  fallen 
asleep  watching  the  red  square  of  reflected  light 
that  appeared  and  re-appeared  on  the  wall  at  the 
foot  of  my  bed  with  such  mechanical  regularity 
that  to  watch  it  was  to  become  drowsy  and  finally 
to  drop  off  into  unconsciousness.  How  many 
times  since  then,  when  harassed  by  wakefulness, 
have  I  longed  for  that  sleep-compelling  light  fi'om 
Stony  haven  Head  !  ,U 

But  on  the  night  in  question  the  red  square  was 
blurred,  and  indistinct,  and  irregular  by  interven- 
ing sheets  of  rain  and  scud.  It  would  not  send 
me  to  sleep  as  usual,  and  presently,  through  the 
roar  of  the  tempest,  there  came  the  dull  sound  of 
a  distant  gun,  and  then,  after  a  long  pause,  it  was 
repeated,  and  I,  frightened,  sat  up  in  bed  and 
called  my  mother.  For,  little  as  I  was,  I  was  a 
sailorman's  boy  and  knew  that  minute  guns  meant 
a  ship  in  distress. 

She  came  in,  looking  pale  and  watchworn,  for, 
as  she  said,  it  was  now  near  dawn,  and  she  had 
not  closed  her  eyes  since  it  came  on  to  blow  just 
after  the  tide  turned  at  midnight.  I  dressed  hastily 
and  found  her  in  the  sitting-room,  with  a  bright 


10  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

fire  in  the  kitchen  beyond ;  and  presently  the 
windows  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  house  became 
whitish  gray  instead  of  black,  and  we  knew  that 
the  horror  of  thick  darkness  was  passing  away. 
And  then  my  mother  made  coffee  and  we  both  had 
something  to  eat,  and  then,  for  by  that  time  it  was 
light  enough  to  see  houses  across  the  street,  she 
began  putting  on  her  storm  wraps,  and  I  knew  that 
she  was  going  down  to  the  breakwater  to  learn  if 
there  was  any  news  of  the  "  Molly  Pitcher." 

I  sat  half  tearfully  watching  her,  for  I  had 
always  been  left  at  home  on  such  occasions  before, 
but  now,  being  comparatively  big,  I  took  a  sudden 
resolve,  fetched  my  red-topped  boots,  the  pride  of 
my  boyish  heart,  from  the  closet,  and  began  putting 
them  on. 

"Where  are  you  going,  Johnny?"  asked  my 
mother. 

"Going  with  you  to  meet  father,"  I  replied 
sturdily.  And  forthwith  got  into  my  oilskin  cape 
and  small  sou'wester. 

Poor  mother  made  but  feeble  protest,  for  I  was 
big  and  determined  of  my  age,  and  she  must  have 
seen  something  in  my  mien  that  led  her  to  hesitate 
about  telling  me  to  stay  at  home.  Moreover,  she 
probably  longed  secretly  for  my  company  and 
support. 


A   SAILOR    BOYS    BIRTHRIGHT.  11 

So  leaving  a  bountiful  repast  artfully  disposed 
where  it  would  keep  warm  without  being  spoiled, 
we  sallied  forth  into  the  tempestuous  dawn,  and 
made  our  way  toward  the  wharves,  keeping  the 
lee  of  buildings,  as  seashore  folk  learn  to  do  when 
the  winds  are  abroad,  and  waiting  for  a  lull  in  the 
tempest  before  venturing  to  scurry  across  the  places 
where  it  had  full  sweep.  All  the  fishermen's 
quarter  of  the  town  was  astir,  and  we  gleaned  here 
and  there  bits  of  news  from  one  neighbor  and 
another  as  we  went.  All  night  the  fishing  fleet  had 
been  coming  in  one  by  one,  and  a  score  of  them 
was  safe  at  anchor  by  now. 

"  Was  the  '  Molly  Pitcher  '  among  them?  " 

Nobody  knew.  Those  whose  menfolk  were 
known  to  be  safe  were  so  well  content  with  their 
good  news  that  they  had  no  thought  as  yet  for  the 
grim  uncertainties  that  still  hung  over  the  fate  of 
others.  So  we  pushed  on  and  at  length  joined  a 
storm-lashed  group  that  cowered  behind  the  last 
available  shelter,  whence  we  could  look  out  across 
the  wind-swept  harbor,  and  see  great  white  rollers 
bursting  against  the  headland,  and  spreading  them- 
selves out  in  a  vast  sheet  of  whiteness  along  the 
bar. 

Quite  a  little  swing  of  a  sea  made  into  the  harbor 
itself,  and  the  sturdy  fishing  craft  rode  uneasily  at 


12  JACK  Benson's  log. 

their  hempen  cables,  even  in  those  comparatively 
sheltered  waters.  The  "Molly"  was  not  among 
the  anchored  craft,  as  I  knew  at  a  glance,  and  so 
told  my  mother,  who  was  not  familiar  as  I  with 
the  individuals  of  the  fleet.  So  we  kept  our  eyes 
on  the  headland  around  which  those  that  had  weath- 
ered the  gale  off  shore  must  presently  begin  to 
appear. 

The  light-keeper,  meanwhile,  on  the  headland 
across  the  harbor,  well  aware  of  the  anxiety  that 
must  prevail  at  such  a  time,  had  set  a  signal  on  his 
flagstaff  which  said  to  the  townfolk,  "  Nothing  in 
distress  is  in  sight."  So  all  took  heart  of  grace  and 
hoped  that  the  next  vessel  to  come  in  would  be 
their  very  own.  We  now  learned  for  the  first  time 
that  the  minute  guns  heard  in  the  night  were  from 
a  large  merchant-ship  that  had  gone  to  pieces  on 
Spanish  Reef,  and  was  apparently  lost  with  all 
hands,  for  at  daybreak  no  sign  of  her  was  visible 
from  the  shore,  and  the  outer  beach  was  already 
strewn  with  her  wreckage.  To  do  anything  for 
her  people,  before  the  gale  subsided,  if  any  had 
managed  to  survive  the  night  on  the  reef,  was  out 
of  the  question.  Moreover,  most  of  the  able-bodied 
seafaring  population  had  all  they  could  do  for  the 
present  to  mind  their  own  affairs.  So  we  stood 
for    an    hour,  women,   and   old    men,  and    a    few 


A    SAILOR    BOYS    BIRTHRIGHT.  I3 

children,  keeping  one  another  in  countenance  with 
gossip  and  guesswork. 

But,  see  !  there  is  a  dim  something  half  obscured 
with  rain  and  spray  driving  in  past  the  lighthouse. 
It  is  a  fisherman  sure  enough,  and  another  is  close 
astern  of  her.  On  they  come,  under  storm  trisails 
and  with  topmasts  sent  down,  riding  easily  over  the 
tremendous  seas  that  the  ebb  tide  makes  off  the 
headland.  Evidently  they  are  all  right.  But 
what  are  their  names?  Old  Captain  Spencer,  too 
infirm  to  go  to  sea  any  longer,  is  on  hand  with  his 
spyglass  at  his  eye,  but  he  cannot  yet  make  them 
out.  They  come  on,  however,  like  racers,  more 
plainly  in  sight  at  every  moment,  and  presently  a 
dozen  voices,  mine  included,  cry  out  joyfullv,  "  It's 
the  '  Molly  Pitcher,'  "  and  my  mother  goes  down  on 
her  knees  with  her  arms  around  me,  and  it  is  some 
minutes  before  she  can  summon  strength  enough  to 
go  home  and  make  ready  for  her  menfolk,  who  are 
certain  to  be  half  famished  after  their  all  night 
battle  with  the  wild  Atlantic. 

I  stayed  behind  to  receive  my  father,  nor  had  I 
long  to  wait.  For  the  "  Molly"  promptly  doused 
her  storm  trisail  and  made  straight  in  for  the  shelter 
of  the  breakwater  under  foresail  alone.  You  may 
be  sure  that  I  jumped  the  rail  as  soon  as  her  fenders 
touched  the  wharf,  and  was  forthwith  gathered  up 


14  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

in  the  arms  of  a  great  creature  in  shining  oilers  who 
dripped  salt  water  where  he  stood  and  asked  out 
of  his  wet  beard  if  all  w^as  well  at  home. 

Such  are  my  earliest  recollections  of  life.  One 
may  think  that  they  should  have  filled  my  mind 
with  horror  and  fear  of  this  great  insatiable  monster, 
called  the  sea,  who  held  up  glittering  prizes  before 
the  face  of  honest  fisherfolk  only  to  snatch  them 
away,  and  leap  hungrily  at  their  throats  when  they 
trusted  in  its  good  faith.  Yet,  strange  as  it  may 
seem,  these  happenings  only  made  me  long  for 
manhood  that  I  might  take  part  in  those  wild 
encounters  that  seemed  to  me  the  only  really  worthy 
aim  for  a  boy's  ambition.  Such  and  so  strong  is 
the  instinctive  love  of  ph3^sical  excitement  implanted 
in  every  spirited  boy's  heart,  to  the  infinite  per- 
plexity of  their  mammas,  who  cannot  comprehend 
why  boys  take  naturally  to  guns,  and  boats,  and 
games  that  are  more  or  less  fights,  instead  of  to 
dolls  and  ribbons  and  gentler  pastimes  like  the 
majority  of  their  sisters. 

But  there  came  a  time  to  me,  as  the  like  has 
come  to  many  Stonyhaven  boys,  three  years  later, 
when  the  "  Molly  Pitcher"  did  not  come  sailing  in 
with  the  rest  of  the  fleet,  and  when  some  of  the 
last  of  them  staggered  home  over  the  bar  under 
shortened  sail,  one  set  her  colors  at  half  mast  as 


A    SAILOR    boy's    BIRTHRIGHT.  l5 

she  dropped  anchor,  which  signified  either  a  death 
among  her  own  crew  or  some  other  disaster  involv- 
ing loss  of  life.  In  this  case  it  meant  the  worst 
possible  for  us.  The  "Molly"  had  foundered  on 
George's  Bank  at  the  height  of  the  gale,  and  all 
hands  were  undoubtedly  lost.  I  was  ten  years  old 
at  the  time  and  my  mother,  never  very  "  rugged," 
as  the  New  England  saying  is,  left  me  alone  in  the 
world  shortly  afterward,  having,  however,  set  her 
modest  house  in  order,  and  made  me  over  to  the 
care  of  old  Dr.  Shumway,  as  he  was  called  by 
virtue  of  his  office  of  principal  of  a  select  school 
for  boys,  which  in  its  day  was  famous  among  its 
fellow  institutions  of  learning. 

The  "  doctor  "  was  in  fact  a  retired  sea  captain, 
who  had  commanded  a  troop-ship  in  the  war  with 
Mexico,  and  had  his  knee  shattered  by  a  musket 
ball  in  an  encounter  with  one  of  the  few  Mexican 
cruisers  that  did  an}^  actual  sea  service  during  the 
year  or  two  of  hostilities.  He  had  a  battalion  of 
regulars  for  passengers  bound  for  Vera  Cruz,  and 
handled  his  ship  so  well,  wounded  as  he  was,  ^vhile 
the  soldiers  were  standing  off  the  Mexicans,  that 
the  officers  of  the  regiment  united  in  a  memorial  to 
Congress  that  brought  him  an  appointment  in  the 
navy  and  eventually  gave  him  a  comfortable  pen- 
sion,  as  was  quite   right  and   proper.     After  the 


i6  JACK  Benson's  log. 

surgeons  had  done  their  best  with  his  knee,  how- 
ever, he  found  himself  no  longer  fit  for  sea  service, 
and,  casting  about  for  means  of  livelihood,  bethought 
him  one  day  of  school-teaching. 

"  I  am  not  very  much  of  a  scholar,"  he  said, 
"  but  I  know  the  three  R's  and  English  grammar, 
and  I  am  a  first-rate  disciplinarian ;  if  any  of  my 
pupils  —  that  are  to  be  —  want  any  higher  educa- 
tion than  that,  Fll  find  somebody  that  can  teach 
'em." 

Now  it  happened  that  there  stood  on  a  rough 
granite  ledge,  two  miles  or  so  from  Stonyhaven 
Port,  an  old  gray  gambril-roofed  mansion,  consid- 
erably antedating  the  Revolution  in  age,  and  enjoy- 
ing an  enviable  local  reputation  as  a  haunted  house. 
For  this  latter  reason  it  was  for  sale  cheap,  and 
Captain  Shumway  was  enabled  to  become  its  owner, 
with  the  adjoining  acres  of  poverty  grass,  and  cedar 
patches,  and  granite  boulders,  which  were  pictur- 
esquely distributed  over  the  hillside.  A  few  hun- 
dred dollars  judiciously  expended  repaired  the 
ravages  of  time  and  neglect,  and  the  captain- 
doctor,  with  his  two  maiden  sisters,  made  sliort 
work  of  the  alleged  ghosts. 

The  old  house  was  renovated  throughout ;  floors 
leveled  up  where  they  had  settled  away  from  the 
big  central  chimneys,  timbers  renewed  where  the 


A    SAILOR    boy's    BIRTHRIGHT.  I7 

hard  oak  of  a  century  before  had  crumbled  to 
powder,  sagging  rafters  replaced  by  new  and 
straight  ones,  and  the  roof  covered  with  thick  split 
shingles  from  Maine  (tlie  captain  would  ha\'e  none 
of  the  then  comparatively  new  sawed  variety),  and 
the  whole  structure  made  tit  for  another  century  of 
usefulness.  All  this  was  effected  without  impairing 
the  comfortable,  dignified,  colonial  aspect  of  the 
exterior. 

When  the  new  shingles  had  assumed  their 
weather  stain  of  gray,  the  old  house  looked  for  all 
the  world  just  as  it  did  when  the  British  were 
looting  Stony  haven  in  1781  and  storming  the  fort 
on  the  heights  opposite.  The  captain  and  his 
sisters  moved  in  with  their  old-fashioned  furniture 
in  late  summer,  and  spent  the  ensuing  winter  in 
making  things  comfortable  and  getting  to  rights. 
Very  comfortable  and  homelike  they  made  the  old 
mansion,  and  shortly  after  Christmas  the  captain 
issued  a  characteristic  circular  and  prospectus,  of 
which  the  following  is  a  faithful  copy  :  — 

Captain  Abner  Shtunzuay,  late  of  the  United 
States  jVavy  (^retired),  will  open  a  boarding  and 
day  school  for  boys  at  Rockledgc^  near  Stony  haven. 

Reading,  Writing,  Arithmetic,  and  English 
grammar  taught  THOROUGHLT,  if  the  pupil 


lO  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG'. 

/s  capable  of  leaniiug  them.  If  not  he  will  he 
taught  something  useful  instead. 

The  so-called  "  Higher  Branches  "  -will  be  taught 
if  desired  to  the  j^oint  of  preparation  for  college., 
but  only  after  the  pupil  has  actually  learned  the 
essentials  of  a  common  education  as  specified. 

Every  hoy  will  he  taught  to  szvim  during  his 
first  summer  term.  Every  boy  zuill  be  required  to 
take  a  reasonable  amount  of  exercise.  Every  hoy 
will  be  helped  to  cultivate  such  artistic  or  mechan- 
ical gifts  as  Nature  may  have  given  him. 

Military  or  naval  drills  tzvice  a  week. 

Modified  naval  discipline  maintained  at  all  times. 

Then  followed  the  rates  of  board  and  tuition  and 
the  like,  which  were  not  so  very  moderate,  but  were 
subject,  as  many  a  deserving  applicant  found,  to 
substantial  reduction  in  special  cases.  My  own 
was  one  in  point. 

I  was,  as  I  have  said,  left  alone  in  the  world 
shortly  after  the  great  storm  of  1854,  which  sent 
the  brave  old  "Molly  Pitcher"  to  Davy  Jones. 
Dr.  Shumway,  as  he  was  known  in  Stonyhaven, 
or  "  captain,"  as  he  insisted  upon  being  called  when 
on  duty  at  Rockledge,  was  appointed  my  guardian 
by  my  mother,  and  I  can  pay  no  higher  tribute  to 
his   memory  than  to  say  here  that  he  did  his  duty 


A    SAILOR    boy's    BIRTHRIGHT.  I9 

by  me  like  an  officer  and  a  gentleman,  managing 
my  little  inheritance  so  judiciously  that  by  the  time 
I  came  of  age  I  had  quite  a  comfortable  investment 
to  my  credit,  although  he  had,  as  was  quite  right, 
conscientiously  charged  up  my  educational  ex- 
penses. 

By  this  time  Rockledge  was  in  the  heyday  of 
prosperity.  A  queer,  rambling,  weather-beaten 
structure  it  had  become  as  its  needs  increased, 
pretty  well  covering  the  crest  of  its  granite  ledge 
that  looked  out  to  sea  between  the  chops  of  the 
harbor.  It  was  built  mainly  of  wood,  though  brick 
and  the  underlying  granite  bore  no  inconspicuous 
part  in  its  construction.  It  had  grown  in  a  helter- 
skelter  sort  of  a  way  from  the  original  structure  to 
its  present  dimensions  with  dormitories  for  fifty 
boys  and  classrooms  for  as  many  more.  The  old 
captain's  circular  hit  the  popular  taste,  and  he  was 
overwhelmed  with  applications  to  receive  pupils  for 
whom  he  had  no  room.  Meanwhile  he  had  been 
his  own  architect  and  had  conformed  his  plans  for 
additional  room  to  the  local  irregularities  of  the 
hilltop  with  a  charming  disregard  of  consequences. 

Here  the  edifice  was  content  with  but  one  story  ; 
there  it  temporarily  climbed  to  three  ;  and  there 
again,  where  it  had  been  found  necessary  to  span 
a  narrow  gulley  in  the  granite  ledge,  it  was  not 


20  JACK  Benson's  log. 

easy  to  determine  where  cellars  or  basements  began 
and  stories  ended.  Withal,  however,  the  effect 
was  quaintly  picturesque,  and  in  this  present  year 
of  grace  artists  and  art  students  from  the  "  summer 
institute "  down  on  the  point  and  photographers 
with  all  sorts  of  cameras  walk  indifferently  past  the 
modern  colonial  and  Elizabethan  imitations  with 
which  the  vicinity  has  been  decorated,  and  carry 
away  more  or  less  unsatisfactory  negatives  and  "  im- 
pressions "  in  water  color  of  Shumway's  old  school. 

It  was  to  this  quaint  home  that  the  captain  took 
me  after  the  funeral  was  over,  and  for  the  first 
week  or  so  I  was  given  a  room  away  from  the 
other  boys,  where  Miss  Electa  and  Miss  Becky, 
the  captain's  sisters,  could  look  after  me  till  I 
began  to  get  over  the  mingled  feelings  of  desola- 
tion and  homesickness  that  succeeded  my  mother's 
death  and  the  abandonment  of  my  boyhood's 
home.  I  cried  myself  to  sleep  the  first  two  or 
three  nights,  but  then  became  accustomed  to  my 
surroundings,  which,  indeed,  were  not  altogether 
strange  to  me,  for  my  mother  had  taken  me  out 
to  the  school  on  one  or  two  occasions  during  my 
younger  days. 

A  short  time  after  my  arrival  the  captain  called 
me  into  his  office  —  he  never  would  allow  it  to  be 
called  a  study,  because,  as  he  said,  he  had  enough 


A    SAILOR    boy's    BIRTHRIGHT.  21 

to  do  keeping  school  without  studying  —  and  told 
me  as  much  as  he  thought  necessary  about  my  per- 
sonal affairs  and  what  he  expected  of  me.  Then 
he  tried  me  on  the  multiplication  table,  which  I  did 
not  know  very  well ;  made  me  read  a  few  verses 
from  the  Bible  and  one  or  two  sentences  from  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  questioned 
me  in  each  instance  as  to  what  I  had  been  reading 
about.  Then  he  asked  me  to  spell  a  few  com- 
monplace words,  and  finally  took  me  to  the  school- 
room, and  showed  me  a  desk  pretty  well  up  to 
the  front.  "You  may  sit  here,"  he  said,  "  and 
study,  and  look  about  you  for  two  or  three  days, 
and  listen  to  the  recitations ;  perhaps  you  can 
decide  for  yourself  which  classes  you  ought  to 
join." 

From  the  schoolroom  we  went  to  the  dormitory, 
and  I  was  shown  a  tiny  room  under  the  roof  just 
big  enough  for  a  narrow  bed,  a  washstand,  ward- 
robe, bureau  and  chairs,  —  all  of  the  plainest  and 
most  substantial  description,  and  all  as  neat  as 
wax,  thanks  to  the  housekeeping  care  of  Miss 
Becky,  in  whose  department  it  was.  This  room, 
the  captain  told  me,  was  my  very  own,  and  that  I 
should  be  held  responsible  for  it.  Every  boy, 
indeed,  was  required  to  sign  a  receipt  for  the  room 
and  its  contents,  just  as  an  army  or  navy  officer  re- 


22  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

ceipts  for  any  government  property  when  he  takes 
possession. 

A  brief  set  of  printed  rules  of  discipHne  and 
behavior  "  in  quarters  "  was  posted  on  the  wall. 
Beyond  these  there  were  very  few  rules,  indeed,  but, 
somehow,  the  entire  school  was  permeated  with  a 
boyish  sense  of  honor  that  went  far  to  counteract 
the  blackguardism  that  is  apt  to  get  the  upper  hand 
where  a  lot  of  boys  are  thrown  together  and  mis- 
governed or  not  governed  at  all. 

We  were  organized  as  a  two-company  battalion, 
with  full  complement  of  captains,  lieutenants,  and 
warrant  officers,  but  official  rank  was  recognized 
only  during  official  hours,  that  is,  during  school 
and  drill,  and  after  "taps"  at  night,  when  ever}^- 
body  was  supposed  to  go  to  sleep.  Of  course  we 
had  our  black  sheep.  Some  of  them  capable  of 
reformation,  others  irreclaimable  ;  but  these  last, 
after  having  at  least  three  chances  to  prove  their 
good  intentions,  had  a  way  of  quietly  disappearing 
over  night,  and  it  would  be  mysteriously  whis- 
pered about  the  next  day  that  they  had  been  sent 
home. 

Whenever  practicable,  good  government  was 
enforced  by  a  sentence  of  a  formally  constituted 
court-martial,  the  captain  himself  usually  presid- 
ing,  and  seeing  to    it    that  the    laws    of   evidence 


A    SAILOR    boy's    BIRTHRIGHT.  2^ 

were  duly  observed,  and  all  things  done  decently 
and  in  order.  As  I  recall  some  of  these  trials,  I 
think  sometimes  that  the  boys  regarded  the  simple 
form  of  affirmation  used  with  more  reverence 
than  is  often  accorded  to  the  oath  administered 
in  so-called  courts  of  justice.  The  captain  would 
rise  in  his  seat,  and,  calling  the  witness,  make 
him  stand  in  full  view  of  all  his  schoolmates, 
facing  them.  "Now,"  he  would  say,  "repeat 
after  me,  I,  James  Lynch,"  or  whatever  the 
boy's  name  might  be,  "  promise  on  honor  to  tell  the 
truth  about  the  matters  now  to  be  brought  before 
this  court."  And,  as  a  general  thing,  the  truth 
was  told  and  a  righteous  decision  reached. 

But  I  fear  I  am  making  myself  tiresome  over 
this  account  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  old 
school  and  the  way  it  governed  itself.  We  had, 
besides,  plenty  of  boy  fun,  plenty  of  play  hours,  a 
good-sized  and  reasonably  level  playground  back 
of  the  ledges,  a  swimming  beach  only  a  few 
hundred  yards  from  the  door,  games  of  all  sorts, — 
football  that  was  .real  football,  and  did  not  make 
brutes  of  us  besides ;  baseball  that  had  not  been 
reduced  to  an  exact  science ;  and  a  sturdy  little 
schooner-rigged  fishing  smack,  on  which  we 
cruised  about  the  vicinity,  under  the  proper 
supervision,  in  almost  any  weather,  and  which  we 


24  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

learned  to  handle  as  smartly  as  any  crew  of  man- 
of-warsmen  could  have  done. 

We  had  a  loose-fitting  uniform  of  blue  jeans, 
with  brass  buttons,  which  could  be  worn  either  over 
our  ordinary  clothes  or  in  warm  weather  by  itself 
alone,  and  which  answered  very  well  for  sea  or 
shore  duty,  costing,  if  I  remember  rightly,  some- 
thing less  than  two  dollars  for  the  entire  suit, 
including  a  sort  of  tam-o-shanter-shaped  cap  of 
white  duck.  Very  smart  the  battalion  looked,  I  can 
tell  you,  with  its  white  belts  and  white  canvas  shoes, 
and  we  prided  ourselves  very  greatly  on  our  martial 
bearing  and  steadiness  in  ranks  when  we  turned 
out  for  parade  or  marched  into  town  on  state  occa- 
sions. Little  did  we  guess  in  those  days  how 
many  of  us  would  in  a  few  months  be  wearing 
other  uniforms  and  finding  the  usefulness  of  our 
school  drill  on  shore  and  at  sea  in  more  serious 
work. 


CHAPTER   II. 

SECESSION    AT    ROCKLEDGE. 

WE  did  not  ordinaril}^  pay  much  attention  at 
Rockledge  to  political  or  national  affairs, 
except  that  most  of  us  were  nominally  either  Whigs 
or  Democrats,  according  to  our  bringing  up.  The 
young  Republican  party  hardly  guessed  at  its  own 
strength  then.  There  were  in  the  school  a  number 
of  Southerners,  and  five  or  six  years  after  I  became 
a  pupil,  when  I  had  risen  to  be  captain  of  one  of 
the  battalion  companies,  there  began  to  be  insensi- 
bly a  certain  drawing  apart  of  these  boyish  repre- 
sentatives of  the  two  great  sections.  Heretofore 
we  had  been  friendly  enough,  barring  the  slight 
differences  that  result  from  home  traditions,  but 
Captain  Shumway's  training  tended  to  make  us  all, 
as  it  were,  a  happy  family  together.  The  Kansas- 
Nebraska  troubles  began  to  mark  the  dividing  line 
more  clearly ;  then  came  John  Brown's  raid  in 
Virginia  (1859),  and  a  certain  intensifying  of  the 
anti-slavery  sentiment  in  the  Northern  States.  The 
election  which  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Mr.  Lincoln 


26  JACK  Benson's  log. 

for  president  followed,  and  then  Southern  boys 
began  to  be  called  home  by  their  parents. 

After  what  I  have  said  about  my  guardian  it  is 
hardly  necessary  to  explain  that  he  was  eccentric, 
and  with  his  eccentricities  he  possessed  a  certain 
faculty  of  prediction  ;  I  do  not  call  it  prophecy  or 
foresight,  for  that  rather  savors  of  the  super- 
natural, but  he  had  that  not  uncommon  gift  among 
born  disciplinarians  of  apparently  seeing  what 
mischief  we  boys  were  up  to  out  of  the  back  of 
his  head,  and  if  there  was  any  scheme  on  foot  for 
raiding  a  neighbor's  orchard  or  melon  patch  he 
was  pretty  nearly  certain  to  know  about  it  before- 
hand and  frustrate  it  in  some  highly  original  and 
effectual  way  that  generally  made  us  ashamed  of 
ourselves.  I  cannot  resist  relating  one  instance  of 
this  kind.  Billy  Bunsby  was,  perhaps,  one  of  the 
worst  boys  in  school,  the  ringleader  in  most  of  the 
mischief  that  was  perpetrated. 

One  day,  while  the  crew  of  the  gig  was  out, 
they  discovered  across  the  harbor  from  the  school  a 
promising  melon  patch,  and  Billy  organized  an 
expedition  for  the  next  night  to  test  the  quality  of 
the  crop  ;  the  most  profound  secrecy  was  enjoined, 
and  all  the  intending  participants  were  pledged  by 
solemn  oaths  known  to  boyhood.  Nevertheless, 
when    they    started  out,   after  having   made    their 


SECESSION    AT    ROCKLEDGE.  2*] 

escape  from  the  dormitory  undiscovered,  they  were 
hailed  by  the  captain  just  as  they  were  shoving 
off,  and  told  that  Deacon  Giles  had  gathered  his 
entire  crop  of  melons  that  afternoon.  The  boys 
slunk  back  to  their  beds,  of  course,  in  the  most 
crestfallen  mood,  and  somehow  the  whole  stor}^ 
leaked  out  the  next  day,  and  the  participants  in 
the  midnight  raid  did  not  hear  the  last  of  it  for 
many  a  day. 

It  will  be  readily  understood  from  this  that 
among  those  of  us  who  had  any  sense  the  cap- 
tain's word  was  fairly  good  law  in  the  school,  and 
his  predictions  regarding  wind,  weather,  and 
human  affairs  in  general  commanded  profound 
respect  in  his  little  kingdom. 

The  strict,  local  Puritanical  observance  of 
Sunday  made  the  day  rather  trying  for  half  a 
hundred  boys,  who  had  somehow  to  be  kept  in 
order,  and  none  realized  this  better  than  the  cap- 
tain. He  used  to  give  us  all  a  tolerably  long  walk 
to  church,  and  when  the  weather  was  anyway 
passible,  would  turn  out  the  whole  battalion  just 
after  sundown,  when,  according  to  the  New  Eng- 
land creed,  a  little  recreation,  even  on  Sunday, 
was  admissable.  After  a  short  marching  drill  at 
the  double  around  the  grounds  up  hill  and  down, 
until   all  hands   were  pretty  well  blown,  we  were 


28  JACK  Benson's  log. 

fairly  well  disposed  to  keep  still  in  the  evening 
after  tea. 

It  was  his  custom  to  give  us  informal  talks  on 
Sunday  nights,  especially  in  winter.  It  may  seem 
incredible  to  men,  who  have  once  been  boys  and 
still  remember  it,  when  I  say  that  these  talks 
almost  always  commanded  unflagging  interest, 
even  on  the  part  of  the  dunces. 

"  Most  as  good  as  a  circus,"  Billy  Bunsby  used 
to  say  reflectiveh',  when  one  of  them  was  over. 
Somehow,  at  this  time  of  which  I  write  all  these 
talks  had  a  more  or  less  patriotic  bearing,  and 
I  think,  perhaps,  that  accounts  for  the  fact  that 
nearly  every  mother's  son  of  us  boys  who  was  old 
enough  served  on  one  side  or  the  other  during  the 
Civil  War. 

I  remember  with  peculiar  vividness,  toward  the 
end  of  i860,  after  Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  chosen 
president,  but  before  his  inauguration,  that,  one 
evening,  the  captain  rather  overdid  himself.  At 
this  period  it  was  the  policy  of  Southern  leaders 
to  misrepresent  the  character,  wishes,  and  inten- 
tions of  Northerners  in  every  conceivable  way. 
Perhaps  they  believed  what  they  taught  regarding 
Northern  cowardice  and  general  inferiority, 
moral,  physical,  and  mental.  At  all  events,  they 
succeeded  in  leading  their  followers  to  death,  de- 


SECESSION    AT    ROCKLEDGE.  29 

feat,  and  ruin,  and  to  this  very  day  they  boast  of 
their  achievement. 

On  this  particular  evening  the  captain  looked 
rather  serious  when  the  reading-hour  came.  I 
cannot,  of  course,  pretend  to  report  what  he  said 
word  for  word  at  this  distance  of  time,  but  I  think 
I  recall  the  gist  of  it.  After  rapping  for  silence, 
he  looked  round  for  a  moment,  and  then,  turning, 
unrolled  a  map  of  the  United  States  and  hung  it 
where  we  could  all  see  it  in  the  light  of  the  hang- 
ing lamp. 

"  Boys,"  he  began,  "  you  don't  any  of  you  know 
it,  and  I  rather  doubt  if  I  can  make  most  of  you 
understand,  but  you  are  all  going  to  see  some  his- 
tory made  presently." 

The  phrase  caught  our  attention.  The  idea  of 
turning  out  history  ready  made  was  certainly  new 
and  fetching,  and  even  the  small  boys  who  were 
playing  criss-cross  on  the  sly  in  the  corner  stopped 
and  began  to  listen.  I  think  they  really  believed 
that  he  was  going  to  take  a  lump  of  history  out  of 
some  one's  hat,  just  as  the  magician  had  produced 
a  live  pigeon  at  the  performance  we  had  witnessed 
the  week  before.     But  the  captain  went  on  :  — 

"  I  don't  bother  you  very  much  with  politics,  as 
you  know  very  well.  I  don't  think  many  boys  of 
your  age  care  much  about  it,  but  most  of  you  have 


30  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

heard  more  or  less  about  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
and  the  John  Brown  raid,  and,  whichever  party 
you  or  your  families  sympathize  with,  you  must 
see  that  there  is  rather  a  disturbed  state  of  things 
just  now.  That,  in  short,  there  is  trouble  brewing. 
I  think  I  can  feel  it  in  the  air,  and  you  know  by 
experience  that  I  am  something  of  a  weather 
prophet. 

"A  lot  of  you  boys  are  Southerners,  and  in  your 
homes  the  servants  are  by  law  the  property  of 
your  parents  and  guardians.  All  this  seems  per- 
fectly natural  and  proper  to  you,  and  why  should 
it  be  otherwise  when  you  have  been  accustomed  to 
it  all  your  lives?  And  I  can  see  that  you  may  be 
very  naturally  indignant  at  any  one  who  thinks 
that  this  is  not  the  best  possible  condition  of 
things. 

"To  us  Northerners,  however,  it  seems  very 
unnatural.  There  are  a  great  many  things  about 
it  that  we  cannot  understand,  so  you  must  make 
allowances  for  us  —  we  must  make  allowances  for 
each  other.  Most  of  us  Northerners  think  that 
the  South  would  be  better  off  and  more  prosperous 
if  the  slaves  could  be  set  free,  not  all  at  once,  but 
by  slow  degrees,  so  that  they  could  have  a  chance 
to  work  for  themselves.  Some  Southerners  agree 
with  us  of  the  North  in  this  respect.     Here  is  a 


SECESSION    AT    ROCKLEDGE.  3 1 

book  very  recently  published  of  which  something 
like  two  hundred  thousand  copies  have  sold  already. 
I  suppose  that  none  of  you  have  read  it.  I  will 
merely  say  that  it  is  written  by  a  Southerner,  that 
it  sets  forth  the  contrast  between  the  commercial 
prosperity  and  general  intelligence  of  the  North 
and  South,  and  ascribes  to  negro  slavery  all  the 
blame  for  the  existing  state  of  things.  Whether 
the  author  is  right  or  not  I  do  not  pretend  to  say  ; 
but  I  know  that  the  South  is  very  much  enraged 
at  the  publication  of  the  book,  and  that  it  is  almost 
unsafe  for  any  bookseller  to  keep  it  in  stock  south 
of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line.* 

"At  any  rate,  the  Southern  leaders  are  afraid,  now 
that  a  Republican  president  has  been  elected,  that 
laws  will  be  passed  which  may  make  slave  property 
very  insecure.  I  do  not  myself  think  there  is  any 
danger  of  this  ;  I  am  an  anti-slavery  man,  but  I  do 
not  wish  and  I  do  not  believe  that  one  in  a  thou- 
sand of  intelligent  Northerners  wishes  to  have 
slavery  meddled  with  where  it  is.  We  merely  do 
not  want  to  have  it  extended,  and  we  think  with 
Mr.  Helper,  the  author  of  this  book,  that  the  South 


*The  book  referred  to,  entitled  "The  Impending  Crisis  of  the  South,"  was 
published  in  1859,  and  in  a  few  months  went  through  many  editions,  and,  strange 
as  it  may  seem,  probably  bore  a  considerable  part  in  exasperating  the  South  against 
the  North,  which  was  precisely  the  reverse  of  the  effect  intended  by  its  author, 
Mr.  Hinton  Rowan  Helper. 


32  JACK    BENSON S    LOG. 

will  be  very  much  better  off  if  it  will  try  to  regu- 
late slavery,  rather  than  to  extend  it. 

"  I  think,  however,  that  the  Southern  States,  or 
most  of  them,  are  going  to  withdraw  from  the 
Union.  I  think  that  most  of  you  Southern  boys 
will  not  be  allowed  to  come  back  to  school  after 
the  Christmas  holidays.  By  that  time  your  States 
will  have  passed  resolutious  withdrawing  from  the 
present  Union.  The  government  at  Washington 
will  ha\'e  declared  this  action  to  be  rebellion,  and 
both  sides  will  be  getting  ready  to  fight. 

"  Now,  there  are  a  number  of  you  boys  old 
enough  and  big  enough  for  military  service,  either 
in  the  arm}^  or  nav}',  and  it  is  by  no  means  impos- 
sible that  some  of  you  may  find  yourselves  under 
arms  before  many  months  have  gone.  All  of  3^ou 
have  gotten  some  notions  of  discipline  and  drill  into 
your  heads  since  you  have  been  here,  and  I  hope 
you  will  do  your  duty  wherever  you  are  and,  I 
will  add,  under  whichever  flag. 

"  Now  I  want  to  tell  you  what  I  think  is  going 
to  happen,  and  you  know  I  ha\'e  had  pretty  good 
luck  in  hearing  of  secret  expeditions  before  they 
come  off"  (a  subdued  titter  ran  round  the  room  at 
this,  for  everybody  remembered  Billy  Bunsby's 
recent  experience).  "  Here  is  a  map  of  the  United 
States  on  which  one  of  you  fourth  class  youngsters 


SECESSION    AT    ROCKLEDGE.  33 

may  make  a  mark  with  this  piece  of  charcoal  sepa- 
rating the  free  and  slave  States." 

After  some  hesitation,  two  small  urchins  stood 
up,  and  the  ^-ounger  of  them  was  invited  to  step  to 
the  map  and  mark  the  division.  I  wonder  how 
many  schoolboys  of  his  age  can  do  it  to-day? 

But  here  came  an  unlooked-for  interruption. 
Haines  Gordon,  a  tall  fellow  from  South  Carolina, 
rose  and  "  stood  attention."  We  did  not  hold  up 
our  hands  at  Rockledge  when  we  wanted  anything, 
but  simply  stood  up  and  kept  still  till  we  were 
noticed. 

"  Well,  Gordon,  what  is  it?  " 

Gordon  swallowed  hard  once  or  twice ;  he  was 
evidently  under  considerable  excitement,  but  found 
his  voice  in  a  moment. 

"  Captain  Shumway,  the  term  slave  State  is 
very  distasteful  to  us  Southerners,  and  —  and  — 
well,  sir,  we  don't  like  it." 

The  old  captain's  eyes  flashed ;  it  was  a  bold 
and  unheard-of  thing  for  one  of  his  boys  to  do, 
arraigning  him  thus  in  the  presence  of  the  whole 
school.  I  could  see  that  he  was  all  ready  to  deliver 
a  very  cutting  retort,  if  nothing  more,  but  he 
checked  himself. 

"  Very  well,  Gordon  ;   I'll  see  what  I  can  do." 

He    leaned   his   elbow  on  the    table,  and  for   a 


34  JACK    BENSON'S    LOG. 

moment  shaded  his  eyes  with  his  hand ;  then, 
standing  up  :  — 

"Thank  you,  Gordon;  it  was  inconsiderate  on 
my  part,  and  I  give  you  my  word  that  it  never 
occurred  to  me  before  that  the  term  might  be  offen- 
sive, but  now  I  see  it.  To  call  any  State  a 
'  slave  State '  may  certainly  convey  the  idea  that 
the  whole  State  is  in  slavery.  While  this  is  not  at 
all  the  idea  that  is  intended,  I  will  promise  not  to 
offend  again,  but  you  need  not  expect  the  general 
public  to  be  equally  considerate.  The  phrase  has 
found  its  way  into  the  public  prints,  North  as  well 
as  South,  and  I  am  afraid  it  can't  be  got  rid  of. 
But  we  won't  use  it  here  ;  we  will  call  them  the 
'  slave-holding  States.'     That  is  all  right,  isn't  it?" 

Gordon  gave  rather  doubtful  assent,  but  sat 
down,  having  no  reasonable  objection  to  offer. 

"  Now,  Martin,"  turning  to  the  little  map-marker, 
who  had  been  tiptoeing  back  and  forth  at  his  task, 
' '  how  do  you  get  on  ?  " 

Martin  had  been  standing  at  one  side  with  the 
pointer  in  his  hand,  and  now  traced  the  mark  from 
where  the  boundary  between  Pennsylvania  and 
Delaware  touches  the  Atlantic  Coast  to  the  Ohio 
River,  then  up  and  around  Missouri,  and  across  to 
where  California  and  Mexico  lie  side  by  side  on 
the  Pacific. 


SECESSION    AT    ROCKLEDGE.  35 

"Very  good,  Martin;  that  will  do.  That  is 
quite  correct,  as  far  as  I  see." 

Martin  received  a  little  round  of  applause  as  he 
returned  to  his  seat,  for  he  was  a  well-liked  little 
fellow  among  us. 

"  I  am  not  at  all  sure,"  the  captain  went  on, 
"  that  I  can  make  you  understand  what  a  tremen- 
dous thing  this  is,  and  I  do  not  think  that  I  will 
even  try.  Martin's  charcoal  mark  here  stands  for 
an  actual  line  some  three  thousand  miles  long.  It 
divides  families,  it  cuts  railroads  and  navigable 
water-ways  ;  it  separates  planters  and  farmers  from 
their  markets,  merchants  from  their  customers, 
children  from  their  parents.  Now,  as  I  said  before, 
I  believe  that  the  slave-holding  Southern  States,  or 
most  of  them,  will  assert  their  right  to  withdraw 
from  the  Union,  and  will  attempt  to  do  it.  The 
Northern  States  will  undertake  to  prevent  this  ;  the 
Union  Navy  will  blockade  the  Southern  ports,  and 
after  awhile  Northern  armies  will  invade  the  South. 
I  say  after  awhile,  for  the  South,  by  all  accounts, 
is  already  well  under  arms,  while  here  at  the 
North  we  are  going  about  our  business  very  much 
as  usual.  We  shall  only  wake  up  to  our  danger 
when  we  hear  the  Southern  troops  are  marching  on 
Washington. 

"  As  a    school,    we  have    our   work  to  do.      I 


36  JACK  Benson's  log. 

know  very  well  that  there  has  already  been  some 
skirmishing  between  North  and  South  among  you, 
and  I  want  to  have  you  agree  that  it  shall  go  no 
farther.  The  Northerners  far  outnumber  the 
Southerners,  and,  moreover,  we  are  at  home 
among  our  own  people.  In  a  sense,  our  Southern 
schoolmates  are  our  guests.  Let  us  treat  them  as 
such,  and  let  me  say  to  you  Southern  boys — I 
think  we  are  pretty  good  friends  now,  are  we 
not?  —  don't  be  too  quick  to  take  offence.  We 
have  all  got  to  stay  here  together,  at  least,  until 
your  parents  take  you  away,  or  you  act  so  badly 
on  your  own  hook  that  I  shall  have  to  send  you 
home ;  let  us  be  as  happy  a  family  as  we  can  as 
long  as  we  can." 

Upon  the  whole,  the  captain's  address  was  well 
received.  Haines  Gordon  and  most  of  the  South- 
ern boys  came  up  and  told  the  captain  that  they 
would  try  and  keep  the  peace.  So  did  the  leaders 
of  the  New  England  faction.  The  older  ones 
among  us  were  cool-headed  enough  to  see  that  the 
captain  was  right,  and  between  us  we  managed  to 
keep  the  firebrands  of  both  sections  from  being 
fanned  into  a  blaze.  The  Southern  delegation 
was  practically  eliminated  after  the  Christmas 
vacation,  for  South  Carolina  seceded  in  December, 
several   of  the   other   States  followed  suit  in  Jan- 


SECESSION    AT    ROCKLEDGE.  37 

uary,  and  Virginia,  last  of  all,  in  April.  Southern 
families  began  to  think  it  time  to  keep  their  boys 
at  home,  and  when  the  summer  term  opened  at 
Rockledge  the  music  had  already  begun,  but 
much  had  occurred  in  the  meantime  affecting  my 
own  personal  fortunes. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ON    THE    DANGER    LINE. 

SHORTLY  after  the  New  Year  of  1861,  I  being 
then  just  turned  sixteen  years  of  age,  my 
guardian  sent  for  me  to  his  office.  I  was  rather  a 
good  scholar  for  my  years,  and  was  pretty  well 
along  with  the  school  course.  Another  year  or  so 
would  have  fitted  me  for  the  height  of  my  ambition, 
namely,  the  examination  for  a  cadetship  in  the 
naval  academy  at  Annapolis,  and  until  now  my 
plans  had  all  been  shaped  to  this  end.  It  had  not 
occurred  to  me  that  any  change  was  possible. 

The  captain,  however,  had  been  quietly  turning 
things  over  in  his  mind,  and  on  this  particular 
evening  he  had  something  special  to  say.  It  was 
after  nine  o'clock.  He  never  allowed  himself  to 
show  me  any  favors  because  of  the  fact  that  I  was 
a  member  of  his  family,  and  only  on  rare  occasions 
was  I  summoned  to  a  private  interview. 

"Jack,"  he  began,  without  any  preliminaries,  "  I 
am  thinking  of  turning  you  adrift.  You  remem- 
ber the  tedious  talk  I  gave  the  school  when  young 

38 


ON    THE    DANGER    LINE.  39 

Gordon  protested  against  my  using  the  term  '  slave 
States'?" 

"Yes,  sir;  I  should  think  I  did  remember  it, 
though  I  don't  recall  its  being  tedious,  as  you  say." 

"  Well,  I  don't  want  to  brag,  but  I  wasn't  so 
very  far  out  in  my  predictions,  was  I,  now  ? 
South  Carolina,  Florida,  Mississippi,  Alabama, 
and  Georgia  have  seceded  and  seized  all  the 
arsenals  and  ungarrisoned  forts  within  their  borders. 
Several  weeks  remain  during  which  the  old  ad- 
ministration will  be  in  power  at  Washington,  and 
after  the  new  one  comes  in  it  will  be  several  weeks 
more  before  they  can  pull  themselves  together  and 
decide  what  to  do.  Now,  I  remember  well  enough 
what  I  was  at  your  age.  What  do  you  suppose  I 
would  have  done  if  there  had  been  a  game  like 
this  called?" 

"I'll  tell  you,"  I  interrupted  eagerl}^ ;  "you'd 
have  run  away  from  home  if  your  folks  wouldn't 
let  you  go,  and  3'ou  would  have  shipped  as  a  pow- 
der-boy in  the  navy  or  as  a  drummer  in  the  army, 
wouldn't  you?  " 

"Well,  I  rather  think  I  should.  And  that  is 
just  what  I  don't  want  you  to  do,  when  we  can 
work  it  quite  as  well  otherwise.  My  old  friend 
and  shipmate  Rogers  is  in  command  of  the  '  Con- 
stitution '  at  Annapolis ;    she  is  stationed  there  as  a 


40  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

practise-ship,  you  know ;  has  a  small  crew  of 
'  Jackies  '  on  board  to  do  the  heavy  work,  and  the 
cadets  go  aboard  now  and  then  for  gun  drill  and 
the  like.  I've  been  corresponding  with  him,  and 
he  says  he'll  take  you  as  a  sort  of  cabin  boarder 
for  awhile ;  you  can  go  on  with  your  studies  under 
his  tuition  and  get  broken  in  to  navy  ways  a  bit. 
Maybe  something  will  turn  up.  Anyhow,  think 
of  it  over  night  and  let  me  know  how  you  feel  in 
the  morning." 

Think  about  it  over  night,  indeed  !  As  if  any 
doubt  could  be  possible  on  such  a  question  in  the 
mind  of  a  Stonyhaven  boy.  Was  I  really  to  stand 
on  that  quarter-deck,  where  Hull,  and  Bainbridge, 
and  Stewart  had  stood  to  see  the  British  ensign 
lowered  on  the  "Java"  and  the  "  Guerriere,"  the 
"Levant"  and  the  "Cyane"?  Was  I  really  to 
sling  my  hammock  from  the  old  oak  timbers  that 
had  shivered  to  the  recoil  of  guns  in  action  and 
still  bore  scars  made  by  cannon  shot?  There  was  a 
singing  in  my  ears  at  the  thought,  and  every  drop 
of  sailor-boy  blood  in  my  veins  went  coursing  at 
double  quick. 

"  O  Uncle  Abner,"  I  cried,  forgetting  in  my 
excitement  that  it  was  term-time,  when  I  was  not 
allowed  to  address  him  by  the  title  of  adoption ; 
"  do  you  really  mean  it?  " 


ON    THE    DANGER    LINE.  4I 

"Yes,  my  bo}',  I'm  afraid  I  do.  I'd  like  to 
keep  you  along  with  me  and  carry  you  a  little 
farther  in  your  studies,  but  the  curtain  is  going  to 
ring  up  presently  on  a  drama,  the  like  of  which 
won't  occur  again  within  a  century,  and  I  want  my 
Jack  to  see  what  he  can  of  it." 

So,  after  a  little  more  talk,  I  went  away  in  a  high 
state  of  excitement  to  my  little  cot  in  the  dormitory, 
intending  to  dream  about  sea-fights  and  all  sorts  of 
warlike  experiences,  including  desperate  encounters 
with  fierce  and  piratical-looking  rebels.  But  I 
thought  instead  —  such  is  the  unaccountable  nature 
of  dreams  —  that  I  was  a  good  little  girl  at  a  Sun- 
day-school picnic  in  pinafore  and  pantalettes,  and 
with  my  hair  done  up  in  a  long  yellow  braid. 
When  I  awoke  and  remembered  what  I  had  been 
dreaming  about  I  was  dreadfully  ashamed  of  myself 
and  thankful  that  the  rest  of  the  boys  didn't  know. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  I  am  afraid  I 
did  not  hear  much  of  the  sermon,  for  the  plot 
rapidly  thickened.  Uncle  Abner  did  not  believe  in 
an  elaborate  wardrobe  for  a  sailor  boy.  Much  to 
the  horror  of  his  soft-hearted  sisters,  I  was  packed 
off  a  few  days  afterward  with  nothing  but  a  hand- 
bag ;  Uncle  Abner  going  with  me  as  far  as  New 
York,  so  as  to  see  me  safely  aboard  the  train  for 
Baltimore. 


42  JACK  Benson's  log. 

And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  on  a  certain  after- 
noon toward  the  end  of  January  I  found  myself 
fairly  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  in  a  sure- 
enough  slave  State,  where  the  spirit  of  secession 
was  boiling  hot  and  all  ready  to  burst  the  bonds  of 
prudence.  Several  marines  and  sailor  men  were 
on  board  the  Annapolis  train,  returning  from  shore 
leave,  and  to  one  of  them  I  presently  made  bold  to 
speak,  showing  him  the  letter  that  the  captain  had 
given  me  to  present  to  Lieutenant  Rogers. 

He  looked  very  knowingly  at  the  superscription, 
as  if  he  was  constantly  in  the  habit  of  reading 
handwriting,  though  I  had  my  doubts,  even  at  the 
time,  whether  he  could  decipher  Uncle  Abner's 
chirography. 

"That's  all  right,  sonny,"  he  said.  "  I  belong 
on  the  '  Constitution  '  myself  ;  you'd  best  keep  along 
with  me  when  we  get  off  the  train,  'cause  the  rebs 
are  getting  mighty  sarcy  round  Annapolis,  and  it 
don't  do  to  go  outside  the  academy  grounds  much 
alone." 

So,  bag  in  hand,  I  marched  along  beside  my  new 
acquaintance,  who,  with  his  hands  in  the  pockets 
of  his  pea-jacket,  rolled  along,  man-o'-war  fashion, 
his  wide  blue  trousers  flapping  about  his  ankles. 
He  kept  talking  to  me,  in  a  voice  that  was  music 
in  my  ears,  albeit  it  was  gruff  with  many  years  of 


WHERE   ARE   YOU    GOING    WITH    THAT    BAG,    YOUNG    FELLOW?' 


ON    THE    DANGER    LINE.  43 

sea  service.  He  turned  out  afterwards  to  be  a 
veteran  gunner,  who  was  a  boy  on  board  the 
"Essex"  when  Captain  Porter  fought  a  British 
squadron  in  Valparaiso  Harbor,  and  while  I  re- 
mained attached  to  the  "  Constitution  "  our  friend- 
ship was  unbroken. 

In  the  street  of  the  town  we  passed  a  company 
of  men  in  citizens'  clothes,  who  were  drilling  with 
and  without  arms,  and  very  black  looks  we  re- 
ceived as  we  swung  along  toward  the  academy 
gates,  taking  no  notice  whatever  of  the  uncompli- 
mentary remarks  that  were  now  and  then  hurled 
after  us. 

We  were  not  destined  to  go  quite  scot  free, 
however,  for  the  local  secessionists  had  partly 
organized,  and  had  already  gone  so  far  as  to  open 
recruiting  offices  in  Annapolis  and  Baltimore. 
They  even  kept  the  government  grounds  under 
surveillance,  and  two  men,  with  big  revolvers  in 
their  belts  and  saddle-horses  hitched  near  by, 
watched  us  keenly  as  we  approached. 

One  of  them  stepped  in  front  of  us.  "  Where 
are  you  going  with  that  bag,  young  fellow?  " 

"None  of  your  business,"  said  my  escort 
roughly. 

"Easy  now,  Jackey,"  said  the  man;  "we've 
got  orders  not  to  let  any  strangers  into  the  academy, 


44  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

specially  if  they're  carrying  anything  with  them  ;  " 
and  he  stepped  forward  as  if  to  seize  my  bag. 

"Orders  be  blowed,"  said  my  escort.  "I've 
got  my  orders,  too.     Come  along,  youngster." 

But  by  this  time  the  other  man  had  me  by  the 
collar,  upon  which  my  escort  promptly  knocked 
him  down,  backed  me  up  against  the  wall,  and 
squared  off,  as  he  said,  "  to  repel  boarders."  Our 
companions  of  the  train,  two  or  three  marines,  and 
as  many  blue  jackets  had  come  along  just  in  the 
nick  of  time,  and,  though  an  ugly-tempered  and 
rough-looking  crowd  rapidly  gathered  about  us, 
the  blue  uniforms  and  stern  faces  representing 
established  authority  had  their  effect;  rebellion 
was  cowed,  and  we  went  on,  passing  presently 
into  the  beautiful  academy  grounds. 

My  heart  was  beating  high  over  this,  my  first 
encounter  with  armed  secession,  and  it  was  very 
comforting  to  see  the  smart  sentry,  who,  with  pol- 
ished equipments,  walked  his  beat  in  front  of  the 
guardhouse,  and  the  formidable  line  of  stacked 
rifles,  with  a  strong  reserve  of  marines  close  at 
hand  ready  to  fall  in  at  a  moment's  notice.  Two 
or  three  brass  howitzers  stood  at  commanding 
angles  among  the  buildings,  and  everything  looked 
ready  for  business,  should  occasion  require.  In 
point  of  fact,  however,  the  situation  was  very  critical 


ON    THE    DANGER    LINE.  45 

within  as  well  as  without  the  government  grounds. 
A  large  proportion  of  officers  and  cadets  were  more 
or  less  in  sympathy  with  secession,  and  Captain 
Blake,  the  superintendent,  hardly  knew  whom  he 
could  trust  if  Maryland  should  pass  an  ordinance 
of  secession  and  attempt  to  seize  government  prop- 
erty, as  some  of  her  sister  States  had  already  done. 
His  own  son,  indeed,  an  officer  in  the  regular 
army,  was  an  avowed  secessionist. 

My  old  gunner  friend  led  me  across  the  parade 
toward  some  lofty  masts  that  towered  over  the  in- 
tervening buildings,  and  presently  we  came  out 
upon  a  kind  of  sea  wall,  whence  I  could  see  the 
gallant  old  frigate  that  was  to  be  my  home  for 
awhile.  She  lay  a  short  distance  from  shore,  an- 
chored bow  and  stern  to  keep  her  from  swinging, 
and  her  grim  row  of  thirty-two-pounders  projecting 
through  her  port  holes  looked  quite  formidable  to 
my  unaccustomed  eyes,  although  they  were  anti- 
quated even  in  those  days. 

A  clumsy,  flat-bottomed  ferry-boat  took  us 
alongside,  and,  my  old  gunner  having  privately 
instructed  me  how  to  salute  the  deck  properly,  we 
climbed  the  gangway,  and  I  stood  at  last  upon 

"  Her  deck  once  red  with  heroes'  blood 
Where  knelt  the  vanquished  foe, 


46  JACK  Benson's  log 

When  winds  were  hurrying  o'er  the  flood 
And  waves  were  white  below." 


The  gunner  and  I  touched  our  caps  in  due 
form,  reported  "  Come  aboard,  sir,"  to  the  officer 
of  the  deck,  and  my  new  friend  made  known  my 
errand.  Whereupon,  a  boy  of  about  my  own  size, 
and  in  a  ship-shape  sailor  rig  that  aroused  my 
envy,  was  directed  to  take  me  to  the  captain's 
cabin.  We  looked  one  another  over  somewhat 
askance,  as  stranger  boys  always  do,  with  a  view 
to  possible  future  hostilities,  and  he  led  the  way  to 
the  break  of  the  quarter-deck,  past  all  sorts  of 
fascinating  sea-going  devices  that  delighted  my 
innermost  heart,  and  finally  knocked  at  a  stout, 
white  door  with  a  brass  knob. 

Ah,  what  a  suite  of  rooms  that  was  that  I  was 
ushered  into  !  Lighted  by  overhead  skylights  in 
the  quarter-deck,  and  by  certain  queerly  shaped 
stern  gallery  windows,  it  showed  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage in  the  level  rays  of  sun  that  streamed  in 
across  the  bright  rugs  that  lay  about  the  spacious 
floor.  The  rooms  were  handsomely  furnished, 
but  the  objects  that  caught  my  attention  were 
several  large,  heavy  cannon,  covered  with  white 
canvas,  that  ranged  along  the  sides  of  the  cabin, 
and  thrust  their  black  muzzles    outboard  through 


ON    THE    DANGER    LINE.  47 

semi-circular  cuts  in  the  half  ports.  The  com- 
mander's quarters  were,  in  fact,  really  part  of  the 
main  gun-deck,  roofed  in  by  the  quarter-deck 
overhead,  and  forming  part  of  the  main  battery 
when  the  ship  was  in  action. 

Lieutenant  Rogers,  in  undress  uniform,  received 
me  kindly,  and  his  servant  showed  me  a  little 
cubby-hole  below,  wiiere  I  was  bidden  to  make 
myself  at  home.  It  was  rather  dimly  lighted 
through  a  circular  port,  but  had  a  bunk  with  some 
drawers  underneath,  and  was  very  comfortable 
withal.  Indeed,  I  was  in  such  a  state  of  mental 
exaltation  that  I  should  have  been  charmed  with 
any  quarters  that  had  been  given  me  on  board  the 
old  ship. 

It  was  not  long  before  I  had  my  modest  belong- 
ings stowed  away  in  what  I  was  then  pleased  to  con- 
sider man-of-war  fashion.  On  returning  to  the 
cabin,  Mr.  Rogers  questioned  me  a  little  about  my 
studies,  and  then  proposed  that  we  should  walk 
over  to  the  superintendent's  office  and  procure  the 
necessary  official  authority  for  me  to  take  up  my 
residence  on  board.  So  he  threw  his  loose,  cape- 
like regulation  coat  over  his  shoulders,  and  I 
donned  my  own,  w^hich  I  gloried  to  tind  was  not 
unlike  the  reefers  worn  by  Uncle  Sam's  blue- 
jackets.     Everything    was    new    and    fascinating ; 


48  JACK  Benson's  log. 

the  cadets  in  their  tight-fitting  uniforms  on  guard 
at  the  doors  of  the  barracks,  the  exquisite  neatness 
of  the  grounds,  the  long  row  of  guns  in  the 
saluting  battery,  all  appealed  to  the  enthusiasms  of 
my  boyish  nature. 

The  superintendent  sat  at  his  desk  writing  a 
despatch ;  behind  him,  stiff  as  a  poker,  was  a 
marine,  the  orderly  for  the  day,  in  full  uniform. 
He  stood  in  that  graceful  pose  known  as  "  the 
position  of  the  soldier,"  his  little  fingers  on  the 
seams  of  his  trousers,  heels  together,  and  feet 
accurately  turned  out  at  right  angles. 

"  One  moment,  Rogers,"  said  the  superintend- 
ent, and,  finishing  the  despatch,  he  handed  it  to  the 
orderly,  who  saluted  with  his  white-gloved  hand, 
mechanically  executed  an  "  about  face,"  stepped 
off,  left  foot  foremost,  and  vanished.  Hardly  had 
the  sound  of  his  footfalls  died  away,  however, 
when  the  superintendent,  seeming  suddenly  to 
remember  something,  sprang  up,  and  opened  the 
window. 

"  Here,  orderly,"  he  called. 

"Yes,  sir,"  from  below. 

"  Give  my  compliments  to  Mr.  Marshall,  and 
ask  him  to  send  two  of  the  guard  to  the  telegraph 
office  with  you  with  their  side  arms." 

"  Yes,  sir." 


ON    THE    DANGER    LINE.  49 

"With  side  arms  only,  you  understand." 

"Yes,  sir." 

Closing  the  window  and  turning  to  Mr.  Rogers, 
the  old  superintendent  totally  forgot  my  presence. 
"I  wish  I  knew,"  he  said,  "where  this  thing  is 
going  to  end.  I  have  to  send  an  escort  for  my 
orderly  to  go  to  the  telegraph  office.  It's  unsafe 
for  a  United  States  marine  in  uniform  to  walk 
through  the  streets  of  Annapolis.  Here  I've  just 
got  a  cipher  from  the  Department,  telling  me  to 
exercise  the  greatest  caution  not  to  provoke  hostili- 
ties. It  doesn't  sa}^  anything  about  resisdng 
hostihty,  if  they  provoke  it  themselves.  It's  my 
notion  that  the  honorable  secretary  just  wants  to 
nurse  things  along  as  they  are  till  the  fourth  of 
March,  and  after  that  they  won't  care,  for  the  other 
fellows  will  take  their  innings.  By  the  way,  how 
many  men  do  you  muster  on  board  the  '  Constitu- 
tion '  now  ?  " 

"Thirty-two,  all  told,  sir." 

"I  must  try  and  get  you  an  additional  draft. 
There's  some  secesh  talk  of  getting  possession  of 
her." 

Mr.  Rogers  flushed  up  to  the  roots  of  his  hair. 
"  You  don't  mean  it,  sir  !  " 

"Yes,  but  I  do,  though.  Here's  the  very  latest 
from  Norfolk.     Poor  old  McAuley  is  at  his  wits' 


50  JACK    BENSON'S    LOG. 

end  ;  he's  got  a  lot  of  Southern  officers  at  the  yard, 
and  they're  badgering  the  old  gentleman's  life  out 
of  him.  Oh,  they  won't  try  for  'Old  Ironsides' 
yet  awhile,  but  think  what  a  feather  it  would  be 
in  the  cap  of  the  Confederacy  if  they  could  start 
their  new  navy  with  her  for  a  flagship  !  " 

"  I'd  like  to  see  them  try  it,  even  with  no  more 
than  my  present  crew  on  board ;  but  I  beg  your 
pardon,  sir ;  I  came  in  to  introduce  Shumway's 
boy,  the  one  that  I  spoke  to  you  about  a  week  or 
two  ago.  I'm  afraid  you've  forgotten  all  about  it, 
with  all  that  you  have  on  your  mind." 

The  superintendent  knit  his  brows  and  scowled 
at  me  in  a  way  that  rather  made  my  heart  quake. 
Mr.  Rogers  resumed:  "Let  me  remind  you; 
Shumway  wants  to  get  him  into  the  navy  in  some 
shape  in  time  to  be  of  service  to  the  country,  and 
the  boy  himself  is  equally  anxious  to  accomplish 
it.  I  find  he's  pretty  well  up  in  the  essentials  of 
navigation,  and  he  is  quite  ready  to  ship  as  a 
powder-boy  rather  than  lose  the  chance.  He  is  to 
be  my  guest  for  awhile,  and  perhaps  get  ready 
for  entrance  into  the  academy  this  fall.  His  ap- 
pointment is  all  arranged  for,  as  I  told  you." 

"  Yes,  I  remember  now,"  the  superintendent  said, 
glancing  indifferently  at  me.  "  All  right,  make  the 
most  you  can  of  him.     We  shall  want  all  the  good 


ON    THE    DANGER    LINE.  5 1 

boys  we  can  get,  I'm  thinking,  before  we're  through 
with  this  business.  Here,  Moseley,"  this  to  his 
secretary,  "  make  out  a  permanent  pass  for  this 
youngster,  will  you,  and  bring  it  to  me  to  sign." 
The  formality  was  soon  over,  and  I  went  back  to 
my  ship  with  a  pass  in  my  pocket  authorizing 
me  to  come  and  go  at  will  within  the  academy 
grounds. 

Of  my  experiences  during  the  next  few  weeks,  I 
need  not  enlarge  ;  I  had  my  regular  study  hours, 
and  spent  most  of  my  spare  time  on  shore  or  in 
the  riorain[T  watching  the  cadet  battalion  at  its 
drills,  gun  exercise,  fencing,  and  the  like,  until  I 
had  a  pretty  fair  idea  of  what  would  be  required 
of  me  if  ever  I  joined  its  ranks. 

On  board  the  "Constitution"  I  occupied  a 
rather  peculiar  position,  being,  as  it  were,  one  of 
the  captain's  family,  and  at  the  same  time  not 
prohibited  by  the  strict  considerations  of  naval 
etiquette  from  associating  with  the  crew  and  with 
the  boys  of  my  own  age,  and  learning  all  that  I 
could  about  a  seaman's  life  in  the  nav}'.  My  first 
acquaintance,  the  old  gunner,  retained  a  sort  of 
fatherly  interest  in  me,  and  put  me  up  to  a  deal 
of  naval  lore,  and  tradition,  and  routine  that  I 
should  otherwise  have  been  long  in  finding  out. 

We  had  rather  more  than  the  usual  complement 


52  JACK  Benson's  log. 

of  boys  on  board,  thirteen  being  the  3'oungest  age 
at  which  boys  were  admitted  to  the  navy ;  their 
duties  being  to  carry  cartridges  when  the  battery 
was  in  action  and  practically  do  anything  and 
everything  that  was  required  of  them,  including  a 
somewhat  uncertain  period  to  be  daily  spent  in 
study  under  the  supervision  usually  of  some 
warrant  officer,  who  was  supposed  to  be  competent. 

Two  or  three  of  these  boys  were  decent  fellows 
enough,  but  the  majority  were  a  far  rougher  sort 
than  any  that  I  had  been  accustomed  to  associate 
with  in  my  previous  life.  Several  of  them,  how- 
ever, I  found  quite  companionable,  and  with  one, 
particularly,  whom  I  will  call  Davy  Jones, —  the 
same,  by  the  way,  who  first  led  me  to  the  captain's 
cabin, —  I  became  quite  intimate.  The  most  of 
them  looked  upon  me  at  first  with  some  suspicion 
as  being  a  kind  of  a  swell,  whose  intimacy  with 
the  captain  was  not  to  be  regarded  altogether  with 
approval.  The  boys  were  regularly  exercised  at 
gun  drill  with  the  lighter  pieces,  at  single  stick 
exercise,  which  was  the  equivalent  of  cutlass  drill, 
and  at  any  other  of  the  lighter  duties  of  a  man-o'- 
warsman. 

Naturally,  in  view  of  the  universal  instincts  of 
mankind,  the  boxing  and  fencing  were  the  favorite 
exercises,  and  I  soon  learned  that  one  of  Lieuten- 


ON    THE    DANGER    LINE.  53 

ant  Rogers'  theories  was  that  no  considerable 
number  of  men  and  boys,  such  as  make  up  the 
personnel  of  the  navy,  can  Hve  together  for  any 
considerable  time  without  occasional  and  often 
salutary  fights  by  way  of  settling  disputes  and 
establishing  the  individual  reladons  that  must 
always  exist.  The  only  rule  —  and  that  was 
an  iron-clad  rule  —  was  "no  fighting  without 
gloves." 

Many  a  quarrel  which  might  have  been  serious 
was  thus  settled  in  a  comparatively  amicable 
way.  Occasional  knock-downs  and  broken  heads 
naturally  enough  occurred  as  the  result  of  quick 
and  unforeseen  quarrels,  but  there  was  a  general 
understanding  that  in  such  cases  the  bystanders 
should  at  once  interfere,  send  for  gloves  or  the 
regulation  single  stick  equipment,  and  make  the 
contestants  settle  their  quarrel  according  to  rule. 

Among  the  boys,  of  course,  small  fallings-out 
were  more  frequent  than  among  the  men,  and  I 
soon  learned  that  I  should  have  to  find  my  level 
among  my  companions  if  life  was  to  be  anyway 
endurable.  Accordingly,  after  thinking  it  over  by 
myself,  I  decided  to  make  a  thorough  job  of  it, 
and  began  by  telling  Davy  Jones,  with  whom,  as  I 
have  said,  I  was  on  most  friendly  terms,  what  I 
was  going  to  do. 


54  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

Davy  grinned  and  wanted  to  know  who  I  was 
going  to  fight  first.  I  told  him  I  thought  I  should 
fight  him.  We  agreed  accordingly  to  pretend  that 
we  had  had  a  quarrel,  and  fight  to  a  finish  that 
same  evening, —  that  is  to  sa}^,  until  one  or  the 
other  of  us  was  so  pumped  out  that  he  could  not 
come  to  time.  When  word  was  passed,  therefore, 
that  there  was  a  fight  on  at  the  fore  section  of  the 
main  deck  we  had  a  very  respectable  audience, 
and  made  believe  glare  at  one  another  as  though 
nothing  but  life  blood  could  satisfy  our  wrath.  In 
fact,  we  were  so  nearly  matched  that,  after  a  set-to 
lasting  some  twenty  minutes,  we  were  separated  by 
the  senior  warrant  officer  present,  who  declared  the 
fight  a  draw. 

There  is  a  popular  delusion  to  the  effect  that 
black  eyes  and  damaged  noses  cannot  result  from 
encounters  with  soft  boxing  gloves,  but  our  appear- 
ance, Davy's  and  mine,  as  we  went  to  the  water- 
butt  together,  under  proper  escort  to  prevent  us 
from  renewing  the  fight,  would  not  have  been 
reassuring  to  our  friends  at  home. 

On  reaching  the  captain's  cabin,  after  having 
performed  a  careful  toilet,  he  saw  in  a  momicnt 
that  I  had  been  in  a  scrimmage,  and,  of  course,  I 
made  a  clean  breast  of  the  whole  affair,  telling  him 
also  that,  if  he  didn't  mind,  I  was  going  to  fight 


ON    THE    DANGER    LINE.  ^5 

the  entire  contingent  of  boys,  one  after  the  other, 
beginning  with  the  largest,  just  for  practise. 

"What  a  little  gamecock  it  is!"  he  said, 
laughing  heartily.  "Well,  I  don't  know  that  I 
mind,  if  you  keep  your  tempers.  You  are  all 
here  to  be  turned  into  fighting  material  for  your 
country's  navy,  and  I  don't  know  how  you  can  get 
better  practise." 

Next  day  I  went  to  look  for  Davy  right  after 
morning  quarters,  and  found  him  forward  with  a 
good  many  of  the  men  standing  about.  I  went 
right  up  to  him  and  shook  hands,  both  of  us  grin- 
ning rather  consciously  over  the  fraud  that  we  had 
practised,  and  each  secretly  aware  that  the  fighting 
demon  had  been  aroused  in  us  toward  the  finish. 

Jones  had  a  very  respectable  black  e3'e,  and  my 
nose  was  considerably  enlarged  from  its  ordinary 
proportion  and  not  very  pretty  to  look  at. 

Chance  favored  my  plans  so  far  as  to  cause  the 
biggest  of  the  boys  to  be  standing  close  by,  and  I 
heard  him  say  to  a  man  next  him  :  — 

"Daisy  nose  Davy  gave  the  old  man's  cub, 
didn't  he?" 

"What's  that?"  and  I  faced  round  toward  him 
sharpl}'. 

"  Oh,  nothin',  Jackey,  my  son.  I  was  just 
admirin'  of  your  cut-water.'* 


^6  JACK  Benson's  log. 

"You  called  me  the  '  old  man's  cub.'" 

"Well,  what  of  it?" 

"It's  an  insult,  and  I'm  going  to  fight  you. 
Will  you  fight?" 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  rather  reluctantly.      "  When?  " 

"  As  soon  as  my  nose  shrinks  so  I  can  see  you," 
I  said. 

"  Done,"  replied  he. 

So  the  fight  duly  came  off,  and  I  was  duly 
knocked  out,  as  I  expected  to  be,  but  I  gaye  him 
more  hard  work  than  he  looked  for,  and  won  no 
end  of  fame  for  my  audacity. 

After  I  had  challenged  and  fought  two  or  three 
more  of  the  larger  boys,  I  worked  down  into  my 
own  class,  age,  and  weight,  and  yery  soon  had  no 
worlds  left  to  conquer,  for  there  was  no  boy  of  my 
size  left  on  the  list.  By  this  time  I  was  easily  the 
best  boxer  and  swordsman  on  board,  for  the  con- 
tests were  occasionally  varied  by  the  substitution  of 
single-sticks  for  gloves.  My  reputation  even  spread 
among  the  cadets,  and,  as  I  was  a  member  of 
Lieutenant  Rogers'  family,  I  began  to  be  asked 
oyer  to  the  fencing-room,  where  I  speedily  picked 
up  bits  of  science  that  I  should  not  have  learned  in 
the  rougher  tutelage  of  the  main  deck. 

I  am  well  aware  that  all  this  must  seem  very 
shocking  to  my  gentle  readers  in  this  gentler  age, 


ON    THE    DANGER    LINE.  57 

but,   as  Lieutenant  Rogers    said,   "What  are  we 
here  for  ?  " 

With  the  aid  of  the  older  warrant  officers,  he 
took  good  care  that  this  kind  of  thing  should  not 
go  too  far,  and  the  result  was  that  serious  fights 
were  almost  unknown  among  men  and  boys,  and 
we  youngsters  became  a  tough,  active  lot,  with  an 
utter  contempt  for  physical  pain  and  a  readiness  to 
endure  fatigue  and  privation  that  served  many  of 
us  well  in  after  days. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE    SAVING    OF    "OLD    IRONSIDES." 

DURING  all  this  time  the  storm  clouds  of 
secession  became  more  and  more  threaten- 
ing along  the  Southern  horizon.  Early  in  Febru- 
ary a  provisional  Confederate  Congress  had  met 
at  Montgomer}',  Ala.,  and  Jefferson  Davis  was 
chosen  president.  The  attempt  to  capture  Mary- 
land for  the  Confederacy  had  failed,  thanks  to  the 
loyalty  of  Governor  Hicks,  but  his  position  was 
very  critical. 

Baltimore,  with  its  two  hundred  thousand  in- 
habitants, was  strongly  in  sympathy  with  the 
South  ;  the  State  capitol  at  Annapolis  was  equally 
devoted  to  the  same  cause,  and  the  national  capitol 
at  Washington  without  adequate  means  of  de- 
fense, with  all  the  government  departments  at 
least  half  filled  with  Southern  sympathizers,  and 
it  was  even  doubtful  at  the  end  of  February 
whether  the  president-elect  could  be  brought  safely 
to  Washington  in  time  for  lawful  inauguration  on 
March  4.     Reach  Washington  he  did,   however, 

58 


THE    SAVING    OF    ''  OLD    IRONSIDES."  59 

in  spite  of  a  well-organized  plan  for  his  assassina- 
tion, passing  through  Baltimore  in  disguise  a  night 
or  two  before. 

Then  followed  a  painful  period  of  suspense, 
while  the  rebels  went  on  perfecting  their  civil  and 
military  organization  and  completing  the  invest- 
ment of  Fort  Pickens  at  Pensacola  and  of  Fort 
Sumter  in  the  harbor  of  Charleston,  the  only  two 
forts  still  held  by  United  States  troops.  It  was 
not  until  the  end  of  March  that  the  president  and 
his  advisers  so  far  solved  the  legal  and  constitu- 
tional problems  that  confronted  them  that  they 
could  decide  upon  a  definite  course  of  action.  It 
was  then  determined  that  the  Rebellion  had  gone 
so  far  that  active  steps  must  be  taken  if  the  govern- 
ment would  save  itself. 

All  the  available  regular  troops  within  reach  had 
been  summoned  to  Washington  for  the  defense  of 
the  Capitol ;  but  they  numbered  only  a  few  hundred, 
and  could  not  offer  protracted  resistance  to  the 
numerous  battalions  that  were  organizing  across 
the  Potomac.  It  was  determined  at  last  to  send 
relief  expeditions  to  the  beleagured  fortresses,  and 
these  were  fitted  out  in  New  York  with  the  utmost 
secrecy  and  despatch. 

Everything  was  known,  however,  to  the  Con- 
federate authorities,   and    on  April    12    the    bom- 


6o  JACK  Benson's  log. 

bardment  of  Fort  Sumter  began.  News  of  this 
opening  of  hostilities  reached  Washington  the  next 
day,  Saturday,  April  13,  and  on  the  Sunday  fol- 
lowing the  president  issued  his  proclamation  call- 
ing out  the  militia  of  the  loyal  States  to  defend  the 
Capitol  and  aid  in  enforcing  the  laws  of  the  United 
States. 

In  those  days  the  State  militia,  or,  as  it  is  now 
called,  the  National  Guard,  was  not  so  well  organ- 
ized as  it  is  now ;  comparatively  few  regiments 
were  fully  equipped  with  arms  and  field  accouter- 
ments  ;  fewer  still  were  habitually  drilled  as  battal- 
ions, and  hardly  a  single  company  of  volunteers 
had  at  this  time  been  organized.  Nevertheless, 
two  days  after  the  president's  call  was  issued  the 
Massachusetts  Sixth  Regiment  was  on  its  way  to 
Washington,  and  on  April  19,  the  anniversary 
of  the  Battle  of  Lexington,  it  was  fighting  its  way 
through  Baltimore,  opposed  by  a  furious  mob  of 
Southern  sympathizers. 

Blood  was  shed  and  lives  were  lost  on  both  sides, 
but  the  regiment  forced  its  way  through  to  the 
Washington  station,  and  went  on  to  the  Capitol, 
leaving  the  city  and  State  behind  it  aroused  to  a 
frenzy.  For  near  a  week  it  was  a  mere  toss-up 
whether  Maryland  should  go  over  to  the  Con- 
federacy or  remain  loyal  to  the  Union.     But  the 


THE    SAVING    OF    "  OLD    IRONSIDES."  6l 

governor,  though  almost  overborne  by  the  pressure 
brought  to  bear  upon  him,  steadily  refused  to  call 
an  extra  session  of  the  legislature,  and  even  deli\'- 
ered  the  State  seal  to  General  Butler,  commanding 
Massachusetts  troops,  for  safe  keeping,  lest  it 
should  be  used  in  the  official  execution  of  some 
compromising  document.  Meanwhile  the  Balti- 
more mob  burned  the  railroad  bridges,  so  that  no 
more  troops  from  the  North  could  go  to  the  rescue. 

At  Annapolis  we  were  for  the  time  completely 
isolated,  getting  our  news  only  at  second  hand, 
and  poor  Captain  Blake,  the  superintendent  of  the 
naval  academy,  was  still  further  perplexed  by  the 
arrival  on  leave  of  his  secessionist  son.  The 
old  gentleman  and  his  wife  could  not  turn  their 
son  out  of  doors,  and  were  yet  afraid  to  have  him 
within  the  lines.  Still,  he  made  the  best  of  it,  ap- 
pealed to  the  young  man's  sense  of  honor,  and, 
so  far  as  is  known,  his  confidence  was  not  abused, 
and,  although  young  Blake  subsequently  resigned 
his  commission  and  served  in  the  Confederate 
Army  throughout  the  war,  still  he  did  not  betray 
his  father's  trust. 

The  chief  anxiety  of  the  little  garrison  at  Annap- 
olis was  concerning  the  old  "  Constitution,"  though 
little  danger  w^as  to  be  apprehended  from  an  attack 
by  land,  for  the  academy  grounds  were  surrounded 


62  JACK  Benson's  log. 

then,  as  now,  by  water  on  three  sides  and  a  stout 
brick  wall  on  the  fourth.  The  approaches  could 
be  easily  commanded  by  artillery  and  riflemen, 
but  for  the  gallant  old  frigate  there  was  no  such 
ready  means  of  defense.  To  be  sure,  the  senior 
class  of  the  academy  was  quartered  on  board 
during  part  of  the  time,  but  no  additional  draft  of 
seamen  from  the  navy  could  be  obtained  to  fill  out 
her  crew  to  its  full  complement. 

Nevertheless,  the  best  was  done  that  could  be 
done,  boys  and  all  taking  their  turns  at  various 
kinds  of  duty.  Through  my  influence  and  inti- 
macy with  the  commanding  officer,  I  was  able 
sometimes  to  get  myself  and  Davy  detailed  to  con- 
genial tasks,  one  of  which  was  going  aloft  to  the 
main  royal  cross-trees  with  a  good  glass  and  keep- 
ing a  lookout  on  the  movements  of  Confederates, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  State  capitol. 

On  the  forenoon  of  one  beautiful  spring  day 
early  in  April,  which  in  that  latitude  means  green 
grass  and  the  trees  pretty  well  leaved  out,  Davy 
and  I  were  perched  in  the  cross-trees  to  relieve  the 
regular  lookout  for  an  hour.  We  were  spying 
about  half  carelessly,  when  one  of  us  noticed  some 
movement  in  an  old  brickyard,  where  nothing  had 
been  done  for  months,  so  far  as  we  knew.  We 
could    make    out   four    negroes    working   about  a 


THE    SAVING    OF    "  OLD    IRONSIDES."  6^ 

couple  of  old  scows,  apparently  cleaning  them  out, 
but  for  what  purpose,  of  course,  we  did  not  know. 

After  awhile,  however,  the  scows  were  cast  off 
from  their  moorings,  and  with  two  men  in  each 
working  the  big,  clumsy  sweeps,  they  passed  out  of 
sight  into  a  little  cove,  which  formed  part  of  an 
estuary,  known  as  Spa  Creek,  that  makes  up  in- 
land to  the  southward  of  Annapolis.  We  watched 
them  out  of  sight  without  having  our  suspicion 
particularly  aroused,  and  then  chanced  to  see  a 
couple  of  horsemen  riding  from  the  direction  of  the 
State  capitol  toward  a  point  which  would  bring 
them  not  very  far  from  where  the  scows  had  dis- 
appeared. 

"  Davy,"  said  I,  a  sudden  thought  entering  my 
head,  "what  bullv  good  boats  those  would  be  to 
bring  boarders  alongside  this  old  ship  of  ours." 

Davy  stared  at  me  with  mingled  wonder  and 
admiration. 

"  Well,  I  should  say  so,"  he  said  at  last. 
"  Maybe  that's  what  they're  up  to.  Let's  go  out 
sailing  in  the  'Junior,'  and  see  where  they've  left 
those  boats." 

"Junior,"  short  for  "  Constitution,  Junior,"  was 
the  name  of  a  little  sailing  dingy  in  which  we  boys 
who  knew  how  to  manage  a  sailboat  were  allowed 
to  cruise  around  in  the  vicinity  of  the  sea  wall  and 


6j\.  jack  Benson's  log. 

the  academy  anchorage.  When  we  were  reheved 
by  the  regular  lookout,  therefore,  we  slid  down  by 
the  back  stays,  and  got  leave  to  go  sailing. 

Fortunately,  we  were  favored  by  a  clipping 
breeze,  and  a  few  minutes  carried  us  out  up  the 
creek  and  past  the  mouth  of  the  little  cove  which  I 
have  before  mentioned.  Just  within  the  mouth  of 
this  an  old  canal-barge  had  grounded,  and  was 
now  almost  high  and  dry  on  the  beach.  Along- 
side of  this  our  two  brick  scows  had  been  moored 
end  to  end,  and  one  or  two  men,  with  the  negroes 
whom  we  had  seen  before,  were  standing  about, 
apparently  examining  the  situation. 

We  did  not  deviate  from  our  course,  lest  we 
might  arouse  suspicion,  as  the"  Junior  "  was  known 
as  part  of  the  academy  equipment.  Having  thus 
located  our  quarr}^  we  headed  back  for  the  ship, 
and  on  the  way  concocted  an  elaborate  scheme 
for  the  afternoon. 

The  usual  hour  of  drill  for  the  Confederate 
troops  that  were  organizing  in  and  about  An- 
napolis was  rather  late  in  the  day, —  say,  about 
five  o'clock.  We  had  often  watched  tliem  march- 
ing and  countermarching  from  some  point  of 
vantage  aloft  on  the  "  Constitution,"  and  we  knew 
pretty  well  at  what  hour  they  would  begin  and 
when  they  would  leave  off.     Putting  these  things 


THE    SAVING    OF    "  OLD    IRONSIDES."  65 

together,  we  decided  that  if  the  brick  scows  meant 
any  business  at  all  one  or  more  of  the  companies 
would  be  marched  down  there  for  practise  that 
very  afternoon. 

The  question  was  how  could  we  both  of  us 
manage  to  get  off  so  as  to  see  them  and  learn 
what  they  were  up  to.  Fortunately,  the  crabbing 
season  was  just  beginning,  and  I  knew  that  both 
Lieutenant  Rogers  and  Captain  Blake,  the  superin- 
tendent, were  uncommonly  fond  of  these  delicacies. 
So  Davy  and  I  innocently  asked  leave  to  go 
crabbing  that  afternoon. 

In  the  meantime  all  our  leisure  moments  were 
devoted  to  busy  preparation.  We  rummaged 
about  among  the  cast-off  sea  toggery  of  the  crew, 
and  succeeded  before  long  in  fitting  ourselves  out 
with  some  half-worn  overalls  and  shirts  that  had 
been  cast  aside,  and  finding  some  battered  straw 
hats  and  blouses  in  rags,  we  rigged  ourselves  out 
as  far  as  we  could  with  our  white  faces  so  that  we 
might  pass  for  a  couple  of  young  darkies. 

The  perplexing  question  was  "  how  should  we 
blacken  our  faces."  We  had  heard  of  using  burnt 
cork,  but,  as  we  should  have  to  change  our  com- 
plexions without  the  assistance  of  a  looking- 
glass,  we  did  not  very  well  see  how  it  could  be 
accomplished    in    that  way.     Finally,  I  consulted 


66  JACK  Benson's  log. 

my  old  friend,  the  gunner,  and  he,  being  a  person 
of  resource,  like  all  good  sailor  men,  forthwith 
suggested  lampblack  and  slush,  ingredients  of 
which  there  is  always  a  plentiful  supply  on  board 
a  man-of-war. 

At  an  early  hour  in  the  afternoon  we  had  our 
clothing  and  cosmetics  done  up  in  a  portable 
shape,  had  smeared  over  the  sides  of  the  "Junior" 
with  mud,  which  would  be  easily  washed  off,  so  as 
to  disguise  her  too  familiar  appearance,  and  leav- 
ing our  sails  behind,  we  pushed  off  and  headed 
across  the  creek  so  as  not  to  give  any  indication 
of  our  destination.  I  should  have  said  that  be- 
sides the  ordinary  equipment  of  crab  fishermen  we 
had  borrowed  a  three-inch  augur  from  Chips,  the 
carpenter,  and  had  also  found  some  old  wooden 
bungs  that  would  fit  the  hole  it  made.  To  each  of 
these  bungs  we  had  attached  a  piece  of  small  line 
some  three  or  four  feet  long  ;  besides  this  we  were 
ourselves  provided  with  a  coil  of  line  something 
like  a  hundred  feet"  in  length  altogether. 

Rowing  along  beyond  the  cove  where  the  scows 
were  moored,  we  found  the  place  beyond  Windmill 
Point  where  a  grove  of  trees  pretty  well  concealed 
us  from  view,  and  there  we  proceeded  to  change 
our  clothes,  and  smear  our  faces,  hands,  arms, 
and  legs  as  far  up  as  our  knees  with  the  not  par- 


THE    SAVING    OF    "  OLD    IRONSIDES."  67 

ticularly  agreeable  mixture  of  slush  and  lamp- 
black. One  difficulty  which  had  not  occurred  to 
us  now  developed  itself, —  namely,  our  hair.  That 
it  was  not  wool  was  perfectly  obvious  to  the  most 
casual  glance,  but  great  are  the  powers  of  lamp- 
black and  slush,  and  we  managed  to  trice  our  hair 
up  so  that  when  concealed  under  our  hat  brims  it 
would  pass  very  well  for  wool  if  the  observer  was 
not  too  near. 

By  this  time  it  was  well  after  eight  bells  (four 
o'clock),  and  all  being  read}',  we  pulled  on  into  the 
cove,  and  went  to  work  catching  crabs,  imitating  so 
far  as  we  could  the  lazy  motions  of  the  average 
Annapolis  darky. 

There  was  no  sign  of  life  whatever  about  the 
barge  and  its  attendant  scows,  but  we  had  fixed 
half  past  five  as  probably  the  earliest  hour  for  the 
appearance  of  the  enemy,  so  we  possessed  our 
souls  in  patience.  It  was,  in  fact,  between  that 
hour  and  six  o'clock  when  we  heard  voices,  and 
presently  the  head  of  a  column  of  infantry  came 
in  eight  out  of  a  street  which,  if  I  remember 
rightly,  was  named  Charles  Street,  leading  from 
the  direction  of  the  State  House. 

These  companies  were  not  yet  uniformed,  but 
they  carried  United  States  rifles,  no  doubt  some  of 
those  that  were  so   generally  distributed   all   over 


68  JACK  Benson's  log. 

the  seceding  States  by  the  secretary  of  war,  Mr. 
Floyd,  and  all  their  accouterments  were  in  good 
shape.  They  swung  along,  carrying  their  pieces 
at  the  right  shoulder,  very  good  specimens  of  the 
splendid  lighting  material  that  formed  the  Confed- 
erate army.  We  counted  the  files  as  they  turned 
along  the  beach  before  coming  to  a  halt,  and  found 
that  there  were  little  short  of  two  hundred  men 
present. 

They  marched  down  the  beach  to  a  point  op- 
posite the  old  canal  barge,  and  there  halted  and 
stacked  arms.  Of  course,  no  two  black  boys 
out  catching  crabs  for  somebody  else  could  be  ex- 
pected to  go  on  with  their  work  when  a  military 
company  was  drilling  within  sight.  Accordingly, 
we  stopped  about  two  hundred  yards  off  shore, 
and  gazed  with  mouths  and  eyes  wide  open.  Our 
appearance  was  so  disreputable,  I  suppose,  that  it 
aroused  no  suspicions.  At  any  rate,  the  drill  went 
on,  and  we  watched  keenly  everything  that  was 
done. 

Evidently  the  officer  in  command  understood  his 
business.  Probably  he  was  a  West  Pointer  or  an 
ex-naval  officer;  at  any  rate,  he  instructed  his 
men  how  to  get  on  board  the  scows  without  mass- 
ing too  much  on  either  side,  and  when  they  had 
learned   that,  he    made    them    at    a    given    signal 


THE    SAVING    OF    "  OLD    IRONSIDES."  69 

scramble  up  the  side  of  the  barge,  which  was  con- 
siderably higher  than  the  scows,  and  no  doubt 
represented  in  their  minds  the  lofty  sides  of  the 
old  "  Constitution." 

They  were  put  through  this  drill  several  times, 
with  their  arms  at  the  last,  until,  with  the  ready 
adaptability  of  Americans,  they  became  proficient, 
and  the  officer  evidently  thought  that  they  would 
be  able  to  go  through  the  same  motion  in  the 
darkness  of  night,  and  perhaps  under  the  excite- 
ment of  cracking  rifles  and  bursting  shells. 

The  sun  was  nearing  the  horizon  and  probably 
most  of  the  men  were  anxious  to  get  home  to  their 
suppers,  being  as  yet  volunteers  not  inured  to 
campaign  habits  in  the  matter  of  going  without 
their  regular  meals,  so  they  were  marched  off  just 
before  sunset,  the  officer  making  a  little  address  to 
them  after  they  had  fallen  in  behind  the  stacked 
rifles. 

We  could  not  hear  all  that  he  said,  but  his  voice 
carried  well  in  the  still  evening  air,  and  we  caught 
a  few  words,  the  substance  of  which  was,  "  Be 
ready  to  turn'  out  under  arms  any  time  to-night." 
Then  followed  the  usual  orders  to  march,  and  the 
column  passed  off  through  the  gathering  dusk. 

It  may  well  seem  incredible  to  any  military  man 
of  experience  that  such   a  drill  could   have  been 


70  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

performed  and  such  instructions  given  almost 
within  sight  of  an  enemy's  headquarters,  but  it 
must  be  remembered  that  these  men  were  almost 
in  their  own  private  dooryards ;  they  knew  that 
they  were  surrounded  by  friends,  and  that  any 
spies  or  enemies  could  be  watching  them  at  that 
time  probably  never  occurred  to  the  otlicer  in 
command. 

There  were,  however,  two  very  wide-awake 
little  darky  boys,  who  a  few  weeks  later  would 
probably  have  been  referred  to  as  contrabands, 
watching  all  their  movements  with  two  very  sharp 
pairs  of  eyes  and  drawing  their  own  conclusions 
from  what  they  saw. 

We  poled  slowly  along  as  soon  as  things  had 
become  quiet,  drawing  in  to  the  shore  and  gradu- 
ally getting  nearer  to  the  scows  as  it  became 
darker.  At  length  we  slid  in  between  the  two, 
fastened  our  skiff,  and,  taking  our  tools,  scrambled 
aboard  the  overhanging  scow.  The  first  thing  to 
be  done  was  to  look  the  boats  over  so  as  to  be  sure 
of  our  ground  ;  this  took  but  a  moment,  as  there 
was  sufficient  light  from  the  western  sky  to  enable 
us  to  see  where  we  were  going. 

The  scows,  as  we  supposed,  were  simply  flat 
boats,  clear  of  all  thwarts  and  cross  timbers  amid- 
ships,   and  having    merely    a    footboard    crossing 


THE    SAVING    OF    "  OLD    IROXSIDES."  7 1 

them  at  either  end,  Measurino-  on  the  outside  so 
as  to  locate  the  water  Hne  exactly,  Davy  started  in 
at  a  suitable  place  to  bore  a  hole  through  the  side 
of  the  scow  just  where  the  water  would  not  come 
in  while  the  boat  remained  empty.  Our  respective 
duties  had  been  arranged  beforehand,  and  while 
Davy  bored  the  hole  I  climbed  over  the  side  and 
made  the  end  of  a  line  fast  to  the  side  of  the  barge 
by  means  of  a  screw-eye  that  I  had  brought  with  me. 

The  bung,  with  its  shorter  line  attached,  was  all 
ready,  and  while  Davy  finished  the  first  augur 
hole,  I  promptly  pushed  the  bung  into  it  from  the 
outside,  and  tapped  it  gently  home.  Then  it  was 
but  the  work  of  a  second  to  tie  the  short  line  and 
the  long  line  together,  and  we  ran  to  the  other  end 
of  the  scow  to  repeat  the  operation.  Two  three- 
inch  augur  holes  were  made  in  each  scow,  and  the 
lines  secured  and  made  fast  to  the  bungs  all  inside 
of  half  an  hour. 

By  that  time  it  was  pretty  dark,  and  we  hurried 
to  gather  up  the  fresh  chips  that  had  been  made 
by  the  augurs,  and  get  into  our  skiff  as  speedily  as 
possible. 

Now  I  think  that  the  veriest  landsman  can 
understand  that  pushing  off  the  scows  would 
tighten  the  lines  and  pull  out  the  bungs,  and  with 
a  load  of  a  hundred  men  the  auffur  holes  would  be 


72  JACK  Benson's  log. 

well  under  water,  and  it  would  take  only  a  few 
minutes,  with  two  three-inch  streams  flowing  in- 
board, to  send  both  boats  to  the  bottom. 

We  had  just  finished  boat  number  two  when  we 
heard  voices  and  footsteps,  which  drew  nearer,  and 
Billy  and  I  had  only  just  time  to  scramble  into  our 
skiff  and  hide  under  the  shadow  of  the  overhang- 
ing bows  when  a  corporal's  guard  of  three  or  four 
men,  with  guns  on  their  shoulders,  came  along  the 
beach.  Evidently  the  commander's  mind  had  mis- 
given him  regarding  the  safety  of  leaving  his  boats 
without  protection,  and  he  had  sent  these  men  to 
be  at  hand  until  the  time  for  action  came. 

"  Stay  here,  boys,  while  I  go  up  and  see  that 
everything  is  right,"  said  the  man  in  charge. 

We  lay  low  as  possible  in  our  little  skiff,  and 
heard  the  corporal  walk  up  the  gang  plank  and 
march  back  and  forth  slowly  the  whole  length  of 
the  barge.  Apparently  his  inspection  of  the  scows 
was  satisfactory,  for  we  heard  him  go  back  and 
descend  the  gang  plank,  rejoining  his  companions 
on  the  beach.  A  short  colloquy  ensued  as  to 
whether  the  party  should  make  its  temporary 
bivouac  on  shore  or  on  the  old  canal  barge,  but  it 
was  finally  decided  in  favor  of  the  former,  and  we 
presently  heard  the  men  gathering  wood  for  a  fire 
and  making  themselves  comfortable. 


THE    SAVING    OF    "  OLD    IRONSIDES."  73 

This  was  the  signal  for  us  to  shove  off  and 
make  our  way  home  before  the  Hght  of  the  lire 
would  endanger  our  safe  retreat. 

It  was  nearly  eight  o'clock  when,  half  famished, 
wet,  and  tired,  we  reached  our  ship,  after  a  most 
exciting  afternoon.  Climbing  the  gangway,  we 
got  on  deck,  and  found  some  difficulty  in  getting 
ourselves  recognized  by  the  quartermaster  on  duty, 
who  held  up  his  lantern  and  scrutinized  our  black 
faces  with  suspicion  and  amusement. 

After  we  had  convinced  him  who  we  were,  he 
said  that  Mr.  Rockers  had  left  orders  that  on  our 
arrival  we  were  to  report  immediately  to  him. 
Accordingly,  without  stopping  to  put  ourselves  to 
rights,  we  went  to  his  cabin,  and,  in  answer  to  his 
summons,  advanced  within  the  circle  of  light. 
Knowing  nothing  of  our  designs  beyond  the  mere 
announcement  of  a  crabbing  expedition,  he  had  no 
reason  to  anticipate  anything  beyond  the  ordinary 
smartly  dressed  sailor  boys  whom  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  seeing  about  his  ship. 

When  his  eyes  fell  upon  us,  black,  tattered,  wet, 
and  generally  disgraceful,  an  expression  of  utter 
amazement  spread  over  his  countenance.  Look- 
ing keenly  at  us  for  a  moment,  he  seemed  to 
recognize  us.  We  pulled  our  forelocks  and  re- 
ported  as  usual.     After  trying  for  a   moment    to 


74  JACK  Benson's  log. 

retain  upon  his  features  a  stern  expression  of 
severity,  he  gave  it  up  and  burst  into  laughter. 

"Well,"  he  said  at  length,  "what  mischief 
have  you  two  been  up  to?  " 

Billy  and  I  glanced  rather  guiltily  at  one  an- 
other, and  I  suppose  his  eyes  told  me  that  he 
thought  I  had  better  make  a  clean  breast  of  it.  So 
I  told  him  in  a  few  words  how  our  suspicions  had 
been  aroused,  what  we  had  discovered  in  the  fore- 
noon, and  what  steps  we  had  taken  after  our  sus- 
picions were  confirmed  to  disable  the  equipment  of 
the  expedition. 

"  Why  didn't  you  report  to  me  what  3'ou  saw  in 
the  morning?  That's  what  you  ought  to  have 
done." 

"  Well,  you  see,  sir,  there  wasn't  anything  to 
report.  Just  those  two  brick  scows,  and  we 
thought  if  we  said  anything  about  it  we  should 
simply  get  laughed  at." 

After  a  little  cross-examination,  Mr.  Rogers  rose 
suddenly  and  dismissed  us,  saying,  "  Get  your- 
selves cleaned  up,  and  come  right  over  to  the 
superintendent's  office." 

We  ventured  to  disobey  orders  in  so  far  as  to  visit 
the  cook's  galley  on  the  way,  where  we  managed 
to  beg  a  bit  of  hard  tack  and  a  cup  of  coffee,  be- 
fore going  on  an  errand  which  might  detain  us  for 


THE    SAVING    OF    "  OLD    IRONSIDES.  75 

some  time.  Changing  our  clothes  was  a  simple 
matter,  but  the  slush  and  lampblack  refused  to 
yield  kindly  even  to  soap  and  hot  water.  After 
spending  all  the  time  we  dared  in  vigorous  scrub- 
bing, we  started  for  headquarters. 

The  orderly  on  duty  grinned  when  he  saw  our 
still  smutty  faces,  but  ushered  us  immediately  into 
the  presence  of  the  grim  old  superintendent,  who 
was  sitting  in  his  office  with  Mr.  Rogers,  evi- 
dently in  consultation. 

We  stood  side  by  side,  caps  in  hand,  toeing  an 
imaginary  seam  in  the  deck,  and  awaited  develop- 
ments. Captain  Blake  looked  us  over  very  keenly, 
glancing  sternly  from  one  to  the  other  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  then,  seeing  that  neither  of  us  winced, 
he  relaxed  his  official  manner  a  little. 

"  Mr.  Rogers  tells  me,"  he  said,  "  that  you  boys 
think  you  have  discovered  a  rebel  plot.  Tell  me 
what  you  have  seen."  Then,  as  we  both  hesi- 
tated to  begin,  he  added,  "Which  of  you  is  tlie 
elder?" 

"  I  am  the  oldest,"  said  Davy,  "  but  he  planned 
it  all  out,  sir ;  "  and  he  pointed  at  me  with  his  left 
thumb. 

"Well,  go  on." 

So  Davy  gave  a  tolerably  coherent  account  of 
how    our    suspicions  were    aroused,   and    how  we 


76  JACK  Benson's  log. 

were  afraid  we  should  not  be  allowed  to  go  at  all 
if  we  told  what  our  real  purpose  was,  and  how  we 
effected  a  change  of  clothes  and  blackened  our 
faces  over  beyond  Windmill  Point.  He  went  on 
with  his  narrative  without  interruption  until  he 
came  to  the  augur,  then  Captain  Blake  interrupted 
him. 

"  Augur,"  said  he,  "  how  came  you  to  have  an 
augur  ? " 

"  We  borrowed  it  of  '  Chips,'  sir  —  the  carpenter, 
I  mean,  sir  —  and  we  rigged  the  lines  to  the  bungs 
before  we  started  out,  sir." 

"  Bungs,"  asked  the  captain. 

"  Yes,  sir,  to  plug  the  holes  with,  sir."  Davy 
glanced  apprehensively  at  me,  for  he  was  beginning 
to  get  rattled  under  this  fire  of  cross-examination. 

"Well,  and  what  next?  "  said  the  captain,  now 
trying  hard  to  keep  from  laughing. 

Davy  was  speechless,  so  I  had  to  take  my  turn, 
and,  being  more  accustomed  than  Davy  was  to 
public  speaking,  I  succeeded  in  making  all  the 
doubtful  points  clear  to  the  officer's  mind. 

Before  I  had  finished  they  both  appeared  to  be 
in  very  good  humor,  and  I  even  detected  them 
winking  at  one  another  when  they  thought  we 
were  not  looking. 

"  Rogers,"  said  the  captain  at  last,  "  I  do  believe 


THE    SAVING    OF    "  OLD    IRONSIDES."  77 

these  young  rascals  have  unearthed  something  of 
importance.  Here,  Benson,"  said  he,  turning  to 
me,  "  show  me  just  where  the  barge  and  boats  He, 
on  this  chart." 

He  laid  the  harbor  chart  on  the  table,  and  I  was 
able  to  locate  the  position  of  the  barge  with  almost 
perfect  accuracy,  because  a  small  wharf  was  indi- 
cated on  the  chart  quite  near  the  position  of  the 
barge. 

"Now,  boys,"  said  Captain  Blake,  "you  may 
go  and  get  a  good  supper.  I  shall  want  one  of 
you  to  go  out  on  the  patrol  boat  later.  Rogers, 
stay  here  a  few  moments  I  want  to  see  you."  So 
we  took  our  departure,  each  of  us  wild  to  go  on 
the  expedition. 

While  swallowing  the  supper  that  the  good- 
natured  cook  had  kept  for  us,  we  drew  lots  as  to 
which  should  volunteer,  but  the  loser  always  re- 
fused to  abide  by  the  result,  and  at  length  we 
patched  up  the  excuse  that  we  must  both  go  any- 
how, so  Davy  conveniently  forgot  certain  things, 
and  I  forgot  certain  others,  and  when  we  were 
examined  as  to  our  qualifications  it  became  per- 
fectly evident  that  only  by  taking  the  two  of  us 
along  could  the  patrol  boat  expect  to  reach  its 
destination  safely. 

During    all    these    nights  of    anxiety  a    regular 


78  JACK  Benson's  log. 

patrol  boat  went  on  duty  at  sundown  and  cruised 
about  all  night  in  the  vicinity  of  the  academy 
water  front.  The  usual  beat  of  this  boat  was,  of 
course,  well  known  to  the  rebels,  and  it  was 
arranged  that  an  extra  boat  should  be  sent  out  a 
little  before  midnight,  as  it  was  morally  certain  that 
no  movement  would  be  made  on  the  part  of  the 
enem}^  until  after  that  hour. 

A  cutter  was  made  read}',  and  a  crew  of  a 
dozen  picked  men  selected  to  go  out  in  charge  of 
Mr.  Findley,  a  young  officer  of  some  experience 
in  actual  service.  All  were  well  armed,  except  us 
two  boys,  who,  to  our  unspeakable  disgust,  were 
considered  too  young  to  be  entrusted  with  firearms 
under  excitement.  However,  we  were  well  enough 
content  to  be  allowed  to  go  at  all,  and  we  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  a  little  sleep  before  we  were 
called  to  turn  out  at  midnight. 

That  was  the  first  boat  expedition  that  either  of 
us  ever  took  part  in,  and  I  suppose  we  shall 
never  forget  the  silent  embarkation,  the  carefully 
muffled  oars,  and  all  the  precautions  usual  on  an 
occasion  requiring  perfect  secrecy.  We  pulled 
directly  across  the  creek  to  Sycamore  Point,  and 
then  skirted  the  shore  till  we  could  cross  over 
without  the  least  risk  of  being  observed. 

Carefully  keeping  behind  the  rude  wharf  that  I 


THE    SAVING    OF    "  OLD    IRONSIDES."  79 

have  mentioned,  which  was  between  the  barge 
and  the  creek,  we  took  sheUer  among  its  upright 
piles  where  we  were  well  concealed  in  the  dark 
shadow.  The  bivouac  fire  still  smoldered  on  the 
beach,  and  we  could  dimly  make  out  the  forms  of 
three  men  sitting  about  it,  while  a  fourth  marched 
up  and  down  to  keep  himself  awake  and  on  the 
alert. 

Detailing  two  of  our  own  men  to  watch,  the  rest 
of  us  made  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  we  could 
on  the  thwarts  and  on  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  and 
awaited  developments.  It  was  along  watch,  and, 
in  spite  of  the  extra  jackets  we  had  brought  with 
us,  we  found  a  chill  striking  to  our  bones.  Most 
of  us,  however,  went  to  sleep  after  awhile,  but  at 
four  bells  (two  o'clock,  a.  m.),  some  one  shook 
me  gently  out  of  a  sound  sleep,  and  I  found  that 
everybody  else,  including  Davy,  was  wide  awake. 

"They're  coming,"  whispered  Mr.  Findley. 
"Quiet,  men,"  he  added;  "for  heaven's  sake, 
don't  make  a  sound."  This  in  the  lowest  possi- 
ble tone  that  could  be  heard  by  the  men  in  the 
boat. 

So  still  was  it,  however,  that  we  could  hear 
every  movement  of  the  approaching  party.  They 
came  along  without  any  special  precautions, 
carrying    three     or    four    lanterns,    and    scarcely 


8o  JACK  Benson's  log. 

lowering  their  voices.  Only  about  half  had  their 
rifles  with  them.  But  all  were  provided  with 
heavy  revolvers,  as  we  could  see  by  an  occasional 
gleam  of  reflected  rays  from  the  lanterns. 

The  commanding  officer  halted  them  on  the 
beach  and  reminded  them  of  the  afternoon's  drill, 
cautioning  them  against  haste  and  confusion  that 
micrht  be  the  natural  result  of  unaccustomed  con- 
ditions  in  the  darkness.  Then,  taking  his  stand 
by  the  gang  plank  and  stationing  men  with  lan- 
terns where  they  would  be  most  useful,  he  started 
the  embarkation. 

We  could  see  the  long  succession  of  dark  figures 
in  silhouette  against  the  dim  lanterns,  passing  one 
after  the  other  up  the  steep  gang  plank.  It  took 
nearly  half  an  hour  to  get  them  all  on  board  and 
safely  bestowed,  seated,  each  in  his  own  place,  on 
the  bottom  of  the  boat.  The  officer  in  charge,  with 
his  lieutenants,  superintended  every  part  of  the 
embarkation,  and  at  length  remained  standing 
alone  on  the  barge. 

"  All  right  on  board  No.  i  ?  " 

"Yes,  sir,"  came  the  answer. 

"No.  2  all  right?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Then  cast  off  the  mooring  lines  and  prepare  to 
shove  off." 


THE    SAVING    OF    "  OLD    IRONSIDES."  8l 

At  this  he  swung  himself  down  into  one  of  the 
scows,  and  we  could  hear  the  oars  run  out  and 
the  gurgling  of  the  water,  as  the  heavily  laden 
boats  were  pushed  side  wise  away  from  the  barge. 

In  a  moment  they  floated  clear  and  we  could 
hear  the  men  getting  out  their  sweeps  and  begin- 
ning to  paddle  slowh'  ahead.  Now  came  the 
critical  time.  Only  Davy  and  I  in  that  cutter  knew 
exactly  how  the  work  had  been  done  that  was 
intended  to  disable  the  expedition.  You  can 
imagine  that  our  hearts  beat  high  with  excitement, 
and  indeed  everybody  on  the  cutter  was  nearly 
as  excited  as  we,  though  their  maturer  years  en- 
abled them,  perhaps,  to  hold  themselves  in  a  little 
better.  Everything  seemed  progressing  satisfac- 
torily ;  the  loaded  boats  had  drawn  clear  of  the 
barge,  when  swish,  snap,  as  of  something  cutting 
sharply  through  the  water  and  bringing  up  with  a 
jerk. 

"  What  was  that?  "  asked  a  voice. 

"  Avast  pulling." 

More  swishing  and  snapping  as  the  different 
lines  tightened. 

Evidently  some  of  the  oarsmen  knew  what 
"  avast"  meant  and  others  evidently  didn't. 

"  Stop  rowing,  you  lubbers  !  "  the  officer  roared, 
seeing  that  the  order  was  not  understood. 


82  JACK  Benson's  log. 

There  was  a  moment's  silence  and  a  whispered 
consultation.  Then  a  voice  with  the  characteristic 
drawl  of  the  eastern  shore  spoke  out :  — 

"  Say,  cap,  I  am  a-settin'  in  about  five  inches  o' 
water." 

"So  be  I,  and  I,"  came  from  various  parts  of 
the  two  boats. 

In  our  own  cutter  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings 
was  developed  an  almost  irrepressible  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  men  to  laugh  and  cheer.  It  was 
perfectly  evident  that  our  plan  had  succeeded,  but 
a  word  of  warning  from  Findley  enabled  us  to  keep 
ourselves  under  control,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
word  was  given  to  pass  the  cutter  astern  out  from 
under  the  sheltering  wharf.  The  men  reached 
over,  shoving  against  the  piles  with  their  hands, 
and  sent  the  boat  out  under  the  still  starlight. 
Concealed  by  the  intervening  wharf,  we  got  our 
oars,  and  a  few  strokes  sent  us  within  hailing  dis- 
tance of  the  enemy,  who  apparently  had  not 
discovered  our  presence. 

The  subdued  talk  among  them  had  now  given 
way  to  a  babel  of  noises,  as  the  scows  settled  down, 
and  hurried  orders  were  given  to  search  for  the 
leaks  and  light  the  lanterns  which  had  been  extin- 
guished. It  was  impossible  to  do  anything  in  the 
dark.     The  water,  however,  was  but  shallow,  and 


THE    SAVING    OF    "  OLD    IRONSIDES."  83 

there  was  little  or  no  panic  among  the  sinking 
crews.  Most  of  them  could  swim,  and  those  who 
could  not  stood  on  the  partly  submerged  scows, 
and  easily  kept  their  heads  above  water. 

We  could  only  guess  what  was  going  on  rather 
than  see,  for  the  darkness  was  very  dense.  From 
snatches  of  sentences  we  knew  that  the  fight  was 
pretty  well  taken  out  of  our  Confederate  friends. 
At  last  Findley  stood  up  and  hailed. 

"  Hallo,  there  I  " 

No  answer,  but  an  ominous  silence.  The  talk- 
ing and  splashing  ceased. 

"  Hallo,  there,  I  say;  who  are  3'ou?" 

Still  silence. 

"  This  is  the  United  States  naval  patrol  boat. 
Answer,  or  I'll  fire." 

Here  some  crazy  desperado,  who  had  managed 
to  keep  his  revolver  dry,  fired  at  us,  the  bullet 
singing  past  just  over  our  heads  and  cutting  the 
water  be3'ond. 

"  Steady,  there,"  shouted  Findley  sternl}^  for  he 
heard  a  number  of  ominous  clicks  as  our  own  men 
cocked  their  big  navy  revolvers.  "  Don't  fire 
without  order." 

Then  addressing  the  half-drowned  secessionists, 
"  I  don't  know  who  you  are,  but  don't  try  that 
again.     I  could  kill   you   all  where  you  stand  if  I 


84  JACK  Benson's  log. 

chose  to  give  the  word.  If  any  of  you  are  in 
danger  of  drowning  I'll  set  you  ashore.  You 
don't  want  any  help?  No?  Well,  good-night, 
then.  Oars  !  Give  way  all,"  and  setting  the  helm 
hard  aport,  the  smart  cutter  swept  past  the  forlorn 
and  baffled  Marylanders,  who,  as  we  afterwards 
learned,  all  got  safely  ashore.  Our  crew  pulled 
home  in  high  glee,  and  Davy  and  I  came  in  for 
much  slapping  on  the  back  and  rough  congratula- 
tion. 

Next  day  the  local  secessionist  paper  contained 
the  following  paragraph  : — 

"  Two  companies  of  the  ist  Maryland  infantry,  under  command  of 
Major  MacKenway,  started  out  last  night  on  what  promised  to  be  a 
successful  expedition,  aimed  to  secure  certain  property  of  the 
United  States  which  may  prove  useful  for  the  use  of  the  Confed- 
eracy. The  expedition  was  to  go  by  water,  and  was  safely  embarked 
shortly  after  midnight.  After  leaving  the  wharf,  however,  the 
boats  were  found  to  be  leaking  so  badly  that  it  was  necessary  to 
abandon  the  expedition  and  return  to  the  shore.  Major  MacKen- 
way and  his  men  were  greatly  disappointed  at  having  to  give  up 
what  seemed  an  excellent  opportunity  to  try  their  new  weapons  on 
the  tyrant  invaders.  But  their  time  will  come!  Maryland  will  not 
long  endure  the  sight  of  Northern  mercenaries  on  her  sacred  soil! 
But  for  the  weakness  of  certain  State  officials  we  should  long  since 
have  been  rid  of  this  incubus." 


CHAPTER   V. 

MASSACHUSETTS   AND    NEW   YORK   TO   THE   RESCUE. 

BY  this  time,  having  learned  the  routine  of  a 
boy's  life  in  Uncle  Sam's  service,  I  w^as 
anxious  to  enlist  and  become  a  regular  man-o'- 
warsman  so  far  as  a  boy  of  my  age  could  accom- 
plish this  end.     But  Mr.  Rogers  dissuaded  me. 

"Wait  awhile,"  he  said.  "If  this  thing  tides 
over,  and  we  do  not  come  to  blows  with  the  seced- 
ing States,  you  can  enter  the  academy  as  a  naval 
cadet  without  any  interruption.  Whereas,  if  you 
enlist  now,  you'll  find  yourself  tied  up  and  unable 
to  make  a  choice  of  stations.  But,  if  worst  comes 
to  worst,  as  now  threatens,  we  can  get  you  drafted 
into  a  good  ship  that  is  likely  to  see  service,  and 
you  will  learn  more  in  six  months  than  you  would 
in  two  years  of  academy  life." 

I  am  afraid  that  in  those  da3^s  we  youngsters 
longed  for  nothing  so  much  as  for  war.  The  little 
taste  of  adventure  that  we  had,  simply  stimulated 
the  desire  for  more,  and  we  could  not  be  expected 
to  foresee  or  appreciate  all  the  horrors  that  actual 

ss 


86  JACK  Benson's  log. 

war  implies.  To  us  it  meant  no  end  of  excitement, 
possible  promotion,  and  prize  money,  and,  in  short, 
all  the  fascinating  phases  of  life  that  ordinary  boys 
only  find  in  the  pages  of  novels.  In  short,  we 
were  full  of  fight,  and  the  uniformly  singly  conduct 
of  the  few  Confederates  that  we  had  thus  far 
encountered  only  served  to  make  us  the  more 
eager. 

Shortly  after  this  time  came  the  attack  on  Sumter, 
news  of  which  reached  us  a  day  after  it  had  taken 
place.  Then  followed  rumors  that  the  president 
had  issued  a  call  for  troops,  that  regiments  from 
the  north  and  east  were  making  their  way  to 
Washington,  and  that  there  had  been  actual  fight- 
ing in  Baltimore. 

Of  the  details  we  knew  nothing  ;  but  the  air  was 
full  of  rumors,  and  if  half  the  stories  had  been 
true  of  the  concentration  of  Maryland  troops  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  State  capitol  it  would  have  taken 
a  very  large  Yankee  army  to  resist  their  onslaught. 
We  noticed,  however,  that  there  was  less  drilling 
of  new  levies  in  the  streets  after  it  became  actually 
certain  that  Massachusetts  troops  had  marched 
through  Baltimore. 

The  railroad  leading  from  Annapolis  toward 
Washington  was  torn  up,  nearly  all  the  rolling 
stock  having    previously   been  taken   away.     We 


TO    THE    RESCUE.  87 

were  almost  wholly  without  trustworthy  news.  Of 
course  the  vigilance  of  the  sentries  was  redoubled, 
and  a  sharp  lookout  kept  at  night,  the  chief  dan- 
ger being  anticipated  from  the  water  side,  since  it 
was  thought  that  a  hostile  expedition  could  be 
readily  sent  down  the  Chesapeake  from  Balti- 
more. 

Accordingly,  when  there  was  a  sudden  call  to 
arms  at  about  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
April  20,  it  took  only  a  few  minutes  for  all  hands 
to  be  at  their  stations.  The  patrol  boat,  it  seems, 
had  showed  its  danger  signal,  and  the  different 
sentries  and  lookouts  had  passed  the  word  along. 
Drums  were  soon  beating  the  long  roll,  and  every- 
thing was  in  readiness  to  repel  an  attack  in  short 
order.  Presently  we  could  make  out  the  dim 
outline  of  a  steamer  coming  up  the  harbor,  but 
whether  she  was  friend  or  foe  we  had  no  means 
of  ascertaining,  and  orders  were  given  not  to 
fire  until  more  accurate  knowledge  could  be  ob- 
tained. 

She  came  to  anchor  in  absolute  silence,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  a  boat  put  off  toward  her  from  the 
superintendent's  landing.  Then  came  another  long 
wait,  and  then  the  report  that  the  steamer  was  the 
ferryboat  "Maryland,"  from  Havre  de  Grace, 
which   had  been   seized  by   Massachusetts   troops 


bo  JACK    BENSON S    LOG. 

under  General  Butler  and  pressed  into  the  service 
as  a  transport. 

Captain  Blake,  who  was  himself  a  Massachusetts 
man,  went  on  board  as  soon  as  he  received  the 
welcome  intelligence,  and  an  eye-witness  of  the 
meeting  says  that  the  old  gentleman  broke  down 
and  cried  like  a  child  when  he  shook  hands  with 
General  Butler,  and  the  first  words  that  he  managed 
to  enunciate  were  :  — 

"  General,  will  you  save  the  '  Constitution?  '" 

General  Butler  at  first,  according  to  his  own 
account,  thought  the  captain  was  taking  leave  of 
his  senses,  and  was  referring  to  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  ;  but  he  quickly  reassured  him, 
and  the  old  sailor's  anxiety  was  relieved  when  he 
looked  around  upon  the  thousand  well-armed 
though  somewhat  untrained  Bay  State  men,  who 
had  thus  unexpectedly  arrived  to  his  rescue. 

The  presence  of  the  Massachusetts  troops 
aroused  grave  apprehensions  in  the  minds  of  the 
local  authorities.  The  governor,  although  loyal  at 
heart,  was  oppressed  by  an  ever-present  fear  lest 
some  hasty  act  should  bring  on  actual  hostilities, 
and  he  immediately  protested  officially  and  other- 
wise against  the  landing  of  troops  on  the  sacred  soil 
of  Maryland.  General  Butler,  however,  was  not 
very  much  given  to  standing  on  ceremony,  so  the 


TO    THE    RESCUE.  89 

troops  were  landed  in  short  order  and  in  spite  of 
protests.  Friendly  relations  were  before  long 
established,  and  the  once  haughty  and  belligerent 
mayor  of  Annapolis  applied  within  thirty  days  for 
the  position  of  post  sutler. 

Before  the  general  landing  was  effected  two 
companies  were  detailed,  at  Captain  Blake's  request, 
to  go  at  once  on  board  the  "  Constitution  "  and 
help  her  short-handed  crew,  acting  at  the  same 
time  as  a  marine  guard.  These  two  companies 
came  respectively  from  Salem  and  Marblehead, 
and  a  large  portion  of  their  nmnbers  were  sailor 
men.  Fore-and-aft  sailors,  it  is  true,  but  having 
the  adaptability  of  Yankees,  and  quite  ready  to 
learn  the  ropes  on  board  an  old-fashioned  square- 
rigged  frigate. 

It  was  very  amusing  to  see  them  fraternize  with 
the  regular  blue-jackets,  and  still  funnier  to  see 
Lieutenant  Rogers  adapt  his  old-school  ideas  of 
naval  discipline  to  the  circumstances.  He  knew 
very  well  that  free  and  easy  Yankee  fishermen  of 
northern  New  England  could  not  come  down  to 
quarter-deck  etiquette  all  of  a  sudden,  so  he  gov- 
erned himself  accordingly  and  got  as  much  work 
out  of  them  as  another  man  would  have  gotten  out 
of  double  their  number. 

The  ship  had  to  be  lightened  of  her  guns  before 


90  JACK  Benson's  log. 

she  would  float,  and  her  huge  anchors  had  lain 
in  one  place  so  long  that  they  had  settled  down 
many  feet  into  the  mud.  But  many  willing  hands 
made  quick  work.  The  "  Maryland  "  was  brought 
alongside,  and  the  big  guns  hoisted  on  board  of 
her  in  short  order.  Then  the  old-fashioned  cap- 
stans were  manned,  and  by  main  strength  the 
anchors  were  hove  up  out  of  their  deep  bed. 
Everything  was  clear  at  last  and  the  "  Maryland" 
towed  us  out  into  the  deep  water  of  Annapolis 
Roads. 

That  night  the  "  Constitution  "  once  more  rode 
freely  to  her  anchors,  and  if  ships  are  sentient 
beings,  as  some  sailor  men  hold,  her  old  timbers 
may  have  thrilled  with  memories  of  the  past. 
Never  before  had  she  more  narrowly  escaped 
having  her  honored  flag  lowered  and  an  alien 
emblem  hoisted  in  its  place.  But  now  she  was 
afloat  once  more,  and,  singularly  enough,  manned 
and  guarded  by  descendants  of  the  very  men  who 
built  her  in  1797  and  fought  her  so  gallantly  in 
1812. 

Next  day  the  New  York  Seventh  Regiment 
arrived  by  steamer  from  Philadelphia,  and  after 
a  short  delay  both  regiments  started  for  Washing- 
ton ox-erland,  reaching  the  Capitol  without  opposi- 
tion and  in  time  to  reenforce  the  slender  garrison 


TO    THE    RESCUE.  9I 

of  regulars  and  hastily  gathered  volunteers  that 
had  thus  far  been  the  only  guarantee  of  safety. 

It  is  one  of  the  strangest  facts  in  connection 
with  this  period  of  the  Civil  War  that,  with  all 
their  ability  and  all  the  means  at  their  disposal, 
the  Confederate  leaders  did  not  seize  the  Capitol 
at  Washington  when  it  was  in  a  defenseless  con- 
dition. That  they  could  have  done  this  almost 
without  opposition  is  now  generally  conceded,  and 
if  they  had  done  so  they  would  probably  have 
had  little  difficulty  in  securing  the  recognition  of 
foreign  governments  and  in  practically  placing 
the  Northern  States  on  the  defensive.  The  border 
States,  as  the}"  were  called,  would  no  doubt  have 
quickly  joined  the  Confederacy,  and  the  history  of 
the  North  American  continent  would  have  read 
very  differently. 

After  the  departure  of  the  troops,  Annapolis  was 
left  in  comparative  quiet.  But  it  was  presently 
decided  by  the  authorities  to  move  the  whole 
academ}'  establishment  to  Newport,  R.  I.,  until 
hostilities  were  over.  Annapolis  was  too  near  the 
border  land  of  actual  hostilities,  so,  after  as  little 
delay  as  possible,  all  hands  were  embarked  on 
board  the  "Constitution,"  and  after  an  uneventful 
voyage  of  three  or  four  days  she  dropped  anchor 
in  the  harbor  of  Newport. 


92  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

This  trip  gave  me  my  first  taste  of  actual  sea 
life  and  ended  my  relations  with  the  fine  old 
frigate.  From  Newport  I  ran  over  to  Stony- 
haven  and  renewed  my  acquaintance  with  school- 
mates and  scenes  that  I  had  left  two  short  but 
eventful  months  before. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MUTINY    OR    TREASON? 

WITHIN  a  few  days  after  the  opening  of 
hostilities  in  Charleston  Harbor,  the  presi- 
dent issued  a  proclamation  announcing  a  blockade 
of  the  entire  coast  of  the  United  States  south  of 
the  Chesapeake, —  a  measure  which  excited  bound- 
less ridicule  in  the  Confederacy,  and  was  sneered 
at  by  enemies  of  the  United  States  all  over  the 
world. 

According  to  the  law  of  nations,  a  blockade 
must  be  effectual  in  order  to  be  binding.  That  is 
to  say,  all  the  accessible  harbors  must  be 
guarded  so  that  merchant  vessels  can  neither  go  in 
nor  come  out.  A  simple  notification  to  the  world 
that  a  blockade  has  been  established  is  not  sufficient. 
When,  therefore,  the  president  of  the  United 
States,  who  had  only  about  two  dozen  effective 
war  steamers  at  his  disposal,  announced  a  blockade 
of  three  thousand  miles  of  seacoast,  everybody 
laughed  and  said  it  was  a  paper  blockade. 

But  now  that  the  aggressive  policy  had  actually 


94  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

been  adopted  by  the  new  government  at  Washing- 
ton there  was  no  lack  of  energy  on  the  part  of 
army  or  navy.  Vessels  that  were  ready  for  ser- 
vice were  promptly  despatched  to  stations  off  the 
more  important  ports.  All  sort  of  craft,  from  ferry- 
boats up  to  ocean  steamers,  were  purchased,  volun- 
teers were  enlisted,  vessels  were  armed  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  and  in  a  surprisingly  short  space  of  time 
even  the  English  and  the  Confederates  themselves 
were  forced  to  admit  that  a  reasonably  strict  block- 
ade of  the  Southern  ports  had  been  established. 

The  world's  supply  of  cotton  came  at  that  time 
from  the  Southern  States.  English  mill  owners 
bought  up  every  pound  of  cotton  that  they  could 
lay  hands  upon,  and  the  price  naturally  went  up 
with  a  jump  in  all  the  markets  of  the  world. 

Then  it  was  that  the  possibilities  of  blockade 
running  dawned  upon  the  British  mind,  and  ship- 
builders were  presently  busy  fitting  out  swift 
steamers  of  light  draft  and  low  free-board  that 
could  slip  into  any  of  the  hundred  rivers  and 
harbors  between  the  Chesapeake  and  Cape  Canav- 
eral. Painted  lead  color,  such  vessels  are  invisible 
on  a  moderatel}?^  dark  night  at  a  hundred  yards 
distance,  and  the  chances  were  largely  in  their  favor 
if  under  the  management  of  daring  skippers  and 
skilful  pilots. 


MUTINY    OR    TREASON?  95 

The  world  wanted  the  Confederacy's  cotton,  and 
the  Confederacy  wanted  the  world's  war  material 
and  general  merchandise.  The  magnitude  of  the 
trade  that  immediately  sprang  up  surpassed  belief. 
The  three  most  available  American  ports  on  the 
coast  were  Wilmington,  Charleston,  and  Savannah, 
and  within  a  short  run  of  them  were  the  British 
islands  of  Bermuda  and  Nassau. 

Never  before  have  these  two  crown  colonies  of 
Great  Britain  enjoyed  such  a  period  of  prosperity 
as  during  those  four  years  of  Civil  War.  They 
were  awakened  suddenly  from  their  long  period 
of  quiet,  and,  after  a  brief  career  of  bustle  and 
money  making,  they  dropped  again  into  their 
natural  state  of  quiescence,  from  which  it  is  not 
very  likely  they  will  ever  be  aroused. 

Before  the  day  of  these  professional  blockade- 
running  steamers,  and,  indeed,  throughout  the  war, 
small  sailing  vessels  played  their  part  along  the 
coast ;  beginning  on  the  Chesapeake,  they  drove  a 
brisk  trade  for  a  short  time,  but  a  fleet  soon  gath- 
ered in  Hampton  Roads  that  made  escape  to  sea 
well-nigh  impossible,  and  the  Potomac  flotilla  soon 
cleared  the  shores  of  batteries  and  put  a  stop  to 
local  defiance  of  Federal  authority. 

Shortly  after  the  proclamation  of  the  blockade 
the  opportunity  came  for  which   my  sponsors,  un- 


96  JACK  Benson's  log. 

beknown  to  me,  had  long  been  watching.  The 
old  sailing  sloop-of-war,  "Wakulla,"  which  had 
been  on  the  China  station  on  a  three  years'  cruise, 
came  home  unexpectedly.  She  was  homeward 
bound  in  the  reg^ular  order  of  thingrs  when  the 
secession  fever  broke  out.  Orders  countermanding 
her  return  were  sent  to  intercept  her  at  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  as  they  were  also  sent  in  the  case  of 
many  another  United  States  cruiser  that  was,  con- 
veniently for  the  Confederacy,  absent  at  some 
distant  foreio-n  station. 

Luckily,  the  "  Wakulla"  was  driven  far  to  the 
southward  out  of  her  course ;  so  far,  indeed,  that 
it  was  not  worth  while  for  her  to  work  back  to 
Cape  Town.  Therefore,  she  most  fortunately 
missed  the  order  sending  her  back  into  the  Indian 
Ocean,  and  instead  shaped  her  course  direct  for 
Newport. 

She  had  left  Hong  Kong  early  in  January. 
News  did  not  travel  around  the  world  so  rapidly  in 
those  days  as  it  does  now,  and  the  result  of  the 
presidential  election  at  home  had  not  reached  the 
China  station.  During  her  lonjj  vovage  she  had 
not  fallen  in  with  a  single  vessel  that  could  grive 
her  news  of  the  situation,  and  when  she  cast  anchor 
off  Fort  Adams  her  people  were  entirely  ignorant 
of  all  that  had  taken  place. 


MUTINY    OR    TREASON?  ()^ 

Lieutenant  Rogers  recognized  her  as  she  came 
up  the  liarbor,  and  ordered  out  his  launch  to  go  on 
board  shortly  after  she  had  cast  anchor,  taking  me 
with  him.  They  had  picked  up  a  pilot  off  shore, 
and  from  him  had  got  some  inkling  of  the  over- 
turning that  had  taken  place  since  they  had  any 
news.  Naturally,  however,  he  had  been  busy  with 
his  duty  of  working  the  ship  into  harbor,  and  tlie 
whole  company  was  in  a  state  of  suppressed  anxiety 
and  excitement. 

Recognizing  the  old  "Constitution"  and  our 
boat  as  a  probable  source  of  trustworthy  informa- 
tion, all  the  officers  crowded  around  the  gangway 
as  we  came  on  board,  and  Lieutenant  Rogers  was 
almost  carried  aft  to  the  quarter-deck,  whither  I 
followed  him,  almost  unnoticed  amid  the  excite- 
ment. 

Few  men  could  have  been  better  qualified  than 
he  to  answer  their  questions  and  tell  the  story  of 
secession,  as  well  as  he  could  for  the  constant 
interruptions,  so  far  as  it  had  gone.  I  had  mounted 
unnoticed  upon  the  quarter-rail,  whence  I  could 
both  see  and  hear ;  and,  boy  as  I  was,  I  was  pres- 
ently aware  that  there  was  a  division  of  sentiment 
among  the  "  Wakulla's  "  officers. 

The  captain,  a  South  Carolinian  by  birth,  as  I 
afterwards    learned,   did  not  hesitate  to    show  his 


98  JACK  Benson's  log. 

pride  and  gratification  at  the  action  of  his  State 
and  the  result  of  the  bombardment  of  Sumter. 
Several  of  his  subordinates,  while  less  outspoken, 
were  evidently  in  sympathy  with  him.  But  I  was 
glad  to  see  that  a  majority  of  the  officers  were 
apparently  deeply  shocked,  not  only  at  the  occur- 
rences that  had  taken  place,  but  at  the  apparent 
lack  of  loyalty  in  their  brother  officers.  To  all 
this  I  was  listening  with  absorbed  attention  when 
I  felt  some  one  pluck  my  sleeve  from  behind. 
Looking  down,  outside  the  rail,  I  saw  a  weather- 
beaten  blue-jacket  standing  in  the  chains  and  look- 
ing up  anxiously  at  me.  He  could  not  be  seen  by 
the  officers  on  deck. 

"Say,  youngster,"  he  whispered  hoarsely, 
"  come  forard,  won't  yer?  Come  forard  and  tell 
us  Jackies  about  it ;   we  don't  know  nothin'." 

"  All  right,"  I  replied,  and  slipped  quietly  to  the 
deck.  My  blue-jacket  friend  joined  me  in  the 
waist,  and  I  was  soon  the  center  of  a  dense  crowd 
in  the  wake  of  the  forecastle,  whose  mutterings 
and  black  looks  more  than  half  frightened  me  as 
I  found  m3^self  in  the  midst  of  them. 

They  had  evidently  picked  up  enough  of  the  news 
to  be  in  a  state  of  intense  exasperation.  My  head 
came  barely  above  the  average  of  their  shoulders, 
and  the  fire  of  savage  questions,  uttered  in  a  sort 


^^tvy^^^ft^i  i"  ^g— 


■'  OLD   ABE   WAS   ELECTED,   YOU   SAY 


MUTINY    OR    TREASON?  99 

of  suppressed  tone  so  that  the  voices  should  not  be 
unduly  raised,  almost  took  my  breath  away.  I 
answered,  however,  as  best  I  could,  till  the  eager- 
ness of  those  on  the  outside  of  the  circle  burst  the 
bonds  of  naval  etiquette. 

"Louder,  young  'un ;  we  can't  hear  yer,"  and 
the  like  ;  till  at  length  some  one  sung  out,  "  Set  him 
up  on  the  capstan." 

This  last  cry  was  taken  up  and  became  so  gen- 
eral and  imperative  that  I  was  summarily  seized 
by  legs  and  shoulders,  and  quickly  but  firmly 
placed  upon  the  broad,  circular  top  of  the  capstan. 
Around  me  thronged  the  blue-shirted  crew,  who, 
reenforced  by  those  who  happened  to  be  below 
decks,  now  nearly  covered  the  topgallant  fore- 
castle and  perched  upon  every  available  point  of 
the  near  rigging. 

"Now,  young  fellow,  give  it  to  us  straight. 
'  Old  Abe '  was  elected,  you  say.  Go  on,  what 
next?" 

"Well,  then  South  Carolina  seceded." 

"What's  that?     See  what?  " 

"Seceded,  you  lubber;  cut  adrift  from  Uncle 
Sam,  that's  what."  This  from  one  of  the  men 
who  stood  near  the  capstan. 

"  Go  on,  youngster." 

"Yes,"  I  continued,  "  South  Carolina  seceded, 


lOO  J-'-CK    UENSOX  S    LOG. 

and  liiL'u  the  rest  of  the  slave  States  seceded,  too, 
—  most  of  them,  that  is." 

"  How  about  little  Delaware?" 
"  She's  all  right !     Didn't  secede." 
"  Ror  for  the  '  blue  hen's  chickens  !  "  * 
A  dozen  voices  questioned  me  about  Kentucky 
and    Tennessee ;    but    these    States    were    still    in 
doubt,    and    I   could   not  say    whether  they   were 
saved  to  the  Union.     As  well  as  I  could  for  con- 
stant interruptions,  I  told   them   about  the  fall   of 
Fort  Sumter  and  the  burning  of  the  Norfolk  navy 
yard,  and  I  couldn't  resist  the  temptation  of  telling 
the    part  I    had  borne  in  saving  "  Old  Ironsides" 
from  capture  in  the  harbor  of  Annapolis.     I  need 
not  say  that  this  elicited   sundry  cries   of  "  Bully 
for   you,   youngster,"  and   poundings  on  the  back 
that  made  me  see  stars. 

Then  at  last  I  told  them  that  the  blockade  had 
been  ordered,  and  that  the  Northern  States  were 
rallying  to  the  defense  of  the  Capitol  at  Washing- 
ton. I  never  expect  to  have  such  an  attentive 
audience  again.  They  listened  with  many  a 
hearty,  if  rough,  expression  of  loyalty  to  the  stars 
and  stripes  and    many  equally  hearty  threats  for 

*  This  was  the  nickname  of  Colonel  Caldwell's  First  Delaware  Regiment  in  the 
Revolutionary  War.  The  original  "  blue  hen  "  was  the  mother  of  a  famous  breed 
of  fighting  gamecocks.  Later  the  name  was  applied  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  whole 
State. 


MUTINY    OR    TREASON?  lOI 

the  traitors.  There  seemed  to  be  but  one  senti- 
ment before  the  mast  on  board  the  "  Wakulla,"  but, 
as  I  found  afterward,  the  quarter-deck  and  the 
wardroom  were  not  so  unanimous. 

Lieutenant  Rogers  and  I  went  back  to  the  "  Con- 
stitution," he  seemingly  in  a  very  thoughtful  frame 
of  mind  and  I  in  a  high  state  of  elation.  I 
chattered  away  to  him,  boy  like,  about  my  ex- 
perience among  the  rough  sailor  men  on  the 
forecastle,  and  he  listened  rather  absently,  think- 
ing, no  doubt,  of  the  puzzling  questions  that  had 
got  to  be  worked  out  in  the  near  future  among  the 
officers. 

"Your  audience  was  better  than  mine,"  he  said 
sadly,  after  awhile,  and  when,  in  my  enthusiasm,  I 
proposed  to  ship  on  board  the  "  Wakulla,"  he  shook 
his  head  rather  doubtfully,  as  if  he  thought  I 
might  make  a  better  selection.  I  had,  however, 
ascertained  that  she  w^as  short  of  boys  when  I  was 
on  board,  so,  as  she  must  of  necessity  be  detained 
a  few  days  at  Newport,  I  telegraphed  to  Stony- 
haven,  and  my  guardian  came  over  on  the  next 
train  in  answer  to  my  summons. 

To  him  I  confided  my  wishes,  and  he  held  a 
council  of  war  with  Mr.  Rogers,  after  which  they 
went  on  board  the  "Wakulla,"  not  taking  me 
with    them,   much  to    my    chagrin;  but  at    length 


I02  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

it  was  decided  that  I  might  as  well  make  my 
plunge  into  the  service  now  as  at  any  time.  So 
the  requisite  papers  were  executed  by  Captain 
Shumway,  as  my  guardian,  and  when  the  ship 
was  ready  to  sail  I  went  on  board  and  duly 
signed  articles.  My  kit  consisted  of  a  canvas 
hammock,  a  pair  of  blankets,  and  a  change  of 
clothing  such  as  I  had  been  accustomed  to  wear 
ever  since  my  introduction  to  the  "  Constitution." 

"You'll  find  the  fo'castle  a  rougher  world  than 
my  cabin,  Jack,"  said  Mr.  Rogers,  as  he  wrung 
my  hand  and  said  good-by.  "  But  you  won't  mind 
as  soon  as  you  get  used  to  it." 

So  that  night  I  slung  my  new  hammock  for  the 
first  time  between  decks,  and  went  to  sleep  watch- 
ing fifty  or  a  hundred  other  similar  hammocks 
swing  lazily  to  and  fro,  as  the  old  sloop  of  war 
surged  out  to  sea  under  easy  sail  between  Block 
Island  and  Montauk  Point,  bound  for  Philadelphia. 

I  suppose  never  a  boy  entered  the  United  States 
service  under  better  auspices  than  I.  Ordinarily, 
they  are  thrown  in  among  the  rough  elements  of  a 
ship's  crew  with  small  ceremony.  Indeed,  there 
was  not  the  least  ceremony  in  my  case.  But  yet 
my  circumstances  were  exceptional.  Every  man 
on  board  knew  me  at  sight  as  the  youngster  who 
had  delivered  an  impromptu  lecture  on  secession. 


MUTINY    OR    TREASON?  IO3 

I  found  myself  quickly  surrounded  by  friends, 
and,  with  very  few  exceptions,  all  continued  to  treat 
me  well.  The  boys  of  my  own  age  were  not  so 
kind,  and  I  presently  found  out  that  if  I  would 
retain  my  self-respect  I  must  fight  without  gloves. 
I  may  say  that  I  did  not  altogether  disgrace  my 
record,  as  established  at  Annapolis,  and  after  one 
or  two  of  the  larger  boys  had  tried  it  on  I  was 
treated  with  due  respect. 

The  "Wakulla"  was  only  a  moderately  fast 
sailer,  and  three  days  after  dropping  Montauk 
Light  we  were  still  out  of  sight  of  land.  About 
this  time  I  began  to  notice  a  certain  seriousness  of 
deportment  among  the  older  seamen  and  warrant 
officers.  It  was  an  undeiinable  something  that 
seemed  to  pervade  the  atmosphere  of  the  ship  fore 
and  aft.  Men  looked  askance  at  each  other.  The 
marines  kept  together  at  their  own  section  of  the 
main  deck.  Nothing  was  said  apparently,  and  yet 
as  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day  drew  to  a  close  I 
think  there  was  not  a  soul  on  board  that  did  not 
know  something  was  wrong.  I  had  not  as  yet 
formed  any  very  intimate  friendships,  and  could 
not  expect  to  be  treated  with  confidence  by  any  of 
my  shipmates.  Therefore,  it  was  with  a  certain 
unsatisfied  and  anxious  curiosity  that  I  turned  into 
my  hammock  that  night. 


I04  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

The  steady  roll  of  the  ship,  the  swish  of  the 
water  along  the  side,  which  I  could  hear  through 
the  open  port,  came  drowsily  to  my  ears,  and 
before  long  I  felt  myself  dropping  off  to  sleep. 
But  just  at  the  last  moment  of  consciousness  a 
murmur  of  voices  near  at  hand  aroused  me.  By 
straining  eyes  and  ears,  I  recognized  the  sergeant 
of  marines  and  two  or  three  gunners  and  quarter- 
masters standing  near  the  port  at  the  foot  of  my 
hammock.  Now  any  intimacy  or  intercourse  be- 
tween blue-jackets  and  marines  is  contrary  to  all 
precedent  on  board  a  man-of-war.  Indeed,  if  any 
great  cordiality  should  exist  between  the  two  grades 
the  marine  corps  might  as  well  be  dispensed  with 
altogether,  for  they  are  depended  upon  to  make 
arrests  among  the  crew,  to  maintain  discipline  in 
case  of  need,  and  to  stand  between  the  quarter- 
deck and  the  fo'castle  in  case  of  anything  so 
serious  as  mutiny.  I  was  wide  awake  in  a  mo- 
ment, my  curiosity  instantly  aroused  by  this  evi- 
dently secret  consultation.  By  dint  of  cautiously 
turning  a  bit  in  my  blanket  whenever  the  ship 
rolled,  I  was  able  to  assume  a  posture  where  I 
could  see  and  hear  better. 

"  Sure,  it's  true  what  I'm  telling  you,  sergeant," 
one  of  the  quarter-masters  was  saying.  "  The 
wind's  been  nor'  and  west  ever  since  we  dropped 


MUTINY    OR    TREASON?  IO5 

Montauk,  and  instead  of  gi\-inor  us  a  course  sou'- 
west  by  west,  which  ought  to  have  picked  us  up 
the  Delaware  Capes  by  now,  the  ole  man  is  giv- 
ing her  southing  enough  to  clear  Hatteras  and  run 
us  over  Charleston  bar  before  we  know  what's  up. 
You  know  what  that  means,  —  good-by.  Uncle 
Sam.  I  don't  guess  the3^'d  hurt  us  much,  but 
they'd  freeze  onto  the  old  '  Wakulla '  and  all  her 
outfit,  you  can  bet  your  life." 

The  sergeant  was  a  man  of  few  words  and  slow 
of  speech  withal.  He  stood  silent  for  awhile. 
"  You  may  be  right,  quarter-master,"  he  said  at 
length.  "  I  aint  sayin'  you're  wrong;  I  ain't  no 
navigator  myself,  but  it  'ud  be  mutiny,  quarter- 
master, to  go  agin'  him.  It'ud  be  straight  mutiny, 
sure." 

"  I'm  as  much  agin  mutiny  as  you  be,  sergeant, 
but  I  axes  you  what  would  it  be  if  the  ole  man 
should  carry  the  ship  into  Charleston  and  hand 
her  over  to  the  State  of  South  Carolina?  Would 
that  be 'mutiny  or  wot?  Mutin}^  agin  Uncle  Sam, 
for  instance?  " 

The  sergeant  shook  his  head  and  said  nothing  ; 
evidently  so  profound  a  problem  in  political 
ethics  had  never  before  been  presented  for  his  con- 
sideration. 

"  No,"    resumed   the    quarter-master,   his    voice 


io6  JACK  Benson's  log. 

getting  a  bit  shaky,  "  it  wouldn't  be  mutiny,  ser- 
geant, but  I'll  tell  you  what  it  would  be ;  it  would 
be  TREASON,  that's  what  it  would  be." 

The  rest  of  the  members  of  the  little  group 
nodded  their  heads,  and  I  could  hear  them  say  in 
whispered  tones,  "That's  so,  sergeant ;  no  more 
nor  less  than  treason." 

"  It's  hard  lines  for  an  old  sergeant  of  marines," 
he  said  at  length  musingly.  "  I've  always  obeyed 
orders  whether  I  liked  them  or  not." 

"  So  have  I,"  broke  in  the  more  reckless  sailor- 
man ;  "  but  you  mark  my  words,  Sergeant  Jones, 
this  here  ship  never  gits  across  Charleston  bar." 

There  was  more  talk  of  the  same  nature  before 
the  conspirators  dispersed,  and  I  lay  awake  an 
hour  or  more,  dimly  aware  that  something  untoward 
was  going  on  around  me  ;  dark  figures  flitted  from 
one  part  of  the  'tween  decks  to  another,  as  if  men 
were  consulting  together  on  the  sly.  But  at  last 
drowsiness  asserted  itself  and  I  went  off  to  sleep, 
only  to  be  awakened  when  the  watch  was  called  in 
the  morning. 

The  wind  had  changed  during  the  night,  and 
sunrise  of  the  fourth  day  found  it  blowing  from 
the  southwest  and  we  heading  northwest  on  the 
port  tack.  As  I  went  on  deck,  I  was  conscious 
of  the  same   atmosphere  of  suppressed  excitement 


MUTINY    OR    TREASON?  IO7 

prevailing  among  all  hands.  I  was  told  that  we 
had  been  heading  in  this  direction  since  midnight, 
but  no  land  was  in  sight,  and  no  one  seemed  to 
know  exactly  where  we  were. 

It  was  the  custon  on  board  this  ship  to  have 
boys  take  their  trick  at  the  wheel  under  proper 
supervision  in  moderate  weather,  and  it  chanced 
that  I  was  on  duty  there  when  the  meridian  obser- 
vation was  taken.  Three  officers  "took  the  sun," 
as  usual,  reported  eight  bells,  and  went  below  to 
work  up  the  ship's  position.  Presently  two  of 
them  came  on  deck  again,  and  I  saw  them  ex- 
change a  quick,  significant  glance.  They  com- 
pared their  figures,  whicli  apparently  agreed,  and 
the  customary  entry  was  duly  made  in  the  log- 
book. Then  the  navigating  officer  went  below  to 
report  to  the  captain,  who  presently  came  on  deck. 

The  two  officers  saluted  and  vacated  the 
weather  side  for  Captain  Randall,  who,  barely 
acknowledging  the  salute,  fell  into  a  mechanical 
walk  back  and  forth  the  length  of  the  clear  space 
between  the  quarter-bits  and  the  break  in  the 
deck.  He  was  a  tall,  dark-faced  man,  an  ex- 
cellent officer  in  every  professional  sense,  but,  as  I 
have  before  said,  a  Southerner,  and  one  of  the 
proudest  and  bitterest  of  his  class. 

The  second    in    command,    Lieutenant    Selden, 


io8  JACK  Benson's  log. 

was,  on  the  contrary,  a  New  Englander  by  birth, 
and  every  bit  as  proud  of  his  birthplace  and  of 
his  family  as  was  Randall  himself.  The  two 
had  been  good  enough  friends,  as  friendships  go 
among  naval  officers  on  a  long  cruise,  but  the 
.denouement  at  Newport  had  rather  strained  the 
relations  of  the  cabin  and  wardroom  all  round, 
and  it  was  whispered  about  the  ship  that  of  late 
there  had  been  some  pretty  plain  talk  between  the 
seniors  in  the  seclusion  of  the  captain's  cabin  and 
arguments  on  the  political  situation  that  made 
matters  rather  uncomfortable.  Before  the  mast, 
of  course,  we  had  our  own  disputes  and  opinions, 
but  there  was  almost  no  disloyalty  to  the  flag. 

While  this  little  tableau  was  arrangingr  itself  on 
the  quarter-deck  the  ship  silently  forged  ahead 
under  all  plain  sail,  dipping  over  the  long  rollers 
with  every  inch  of  canvas  drawing,  and  the  great 
white  pyramid  of  lofty  sails  swaying  gently  to  and 
fro  across  the  blue  sky. 

From  my  place  at  the  wheel  I  could  watch  all 
this  display  from  the  main  truck  to  the  foot  of  the 
foresail,  with  the  keen  enjoyment  of  a  sailor  boy 
who  had  not  as  yet  known  enough  sea  service  to 
be  tired  of  it.  My  companion  and  sponsor  at  the 
wheel  was  one  of  the  quarter-masters  whom  I  had 
overheard  talking  patriotic  mutiny  the  night  before 


MUTINY    OR    TREASON?  IO9 

near  my  hammock,  and  it  was  evident  to  me  that 
he  was  in  a  state  of  deep,  though  suppressed,  excite- 
ment. Indeed,  the  air  of  suspense  to  which  I  have 
referred  as  pervading  the  whole  ship's  company 
had  rather  increased  than  diminished  during  the 
night. 

The  watch  on  deck  was  for  the  most  part  walk- 
ing back  and  forth  in  couples  or  busied  about 
some  kind  of  rigging  or  other  ship's  work.  It 
seemed  to  me,  however,  that  rather  an  unusual 
number  of  the  off-duty  men  were  on  deck,  and, 
indeed,  this  afterward  proved  to  be  the  case. 

Half  an  hour  or  so  passed  in  almost  absolute 
silence.  Randall  continued  his  walk,  stopping  now 
and  then  to  scan  intently  the  horizon  to  windward. 
At  length  he  seemed  to  have  made  up  his  mind  to 
something,  for  he  stopped  half  way  in  his  walk  aft 
between  the  gangway  and  the  bits,  went  forward, 
and  hailed  the  officer  of  the  deck. 

"  Is  there  a  lookout  aloft,  Mr.  Fraser?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Where  is  he?"  (For  the  sails  shut  off  his 
view  of  the  foremast.) 

"  In  the  foretopmast  cross-trees,  sir." 

"  Send  him  up  to  the  royal  yard." 

"  Very  good,  sir." 

A  pause  of  five  minutes  ensued  while  this  order 


no  JACK  Benson's  log. 

was  carried  out.  Then  there  was  a  hail  from 
aloft,  but  we  could  not  make  out  the  words  on  the 
quarter-deck. 

"  What  does  he  say,  Mr.  Fraser?"  asked  Ran- 
dall, in  the  gangway. 

"  He  reports  something  nearly  abeam,  sir,  but 
he  can't  make  out  whether  it's  a  sail  or  a  light- 
house." 

Here  the  quarter-master  whispered  to  me,  "  Now, 
then,  young  'un,  if  anything  happens  to  take  me 
away  from  the  wheel,  you  just  stick  to  it,  and  keep 
her  full  as  she  goes." 

I  suppose  I  must  have  looked  rather  wonderingly 
at  him,  but  he  nodded  encouragingly,  hitched  up 
his  trousers,  sailor  fashion,  and  felt  inside  the 
bosom  of  his  jacket  with  his  right  hand.  As  he 
withdrew  his  hand  I  caught  the  gleam  of  some- 
thing that  looked  very  much  like  the  butt  of  a 
revolver.  I  will  not  deny  that  I  began  to  wish  I 
was  safe  at  Rockledge.  Excitement,  and  fighting, 
and  boat  expeditions,  and  so  on  were  one  thing, 
but  this  dreadful  suspense,  and  not  knowing  what 
was  the  matter, —  for  nobody  thought  it  would  do  to 
trust  a  boy  with  a  secret  —  was  something  terrible. 

I  noticed  now  that  several  of  the  other  officers, 
including  Lieutenant  Selden,  had  come  on  deck. 
Going  forward,  he  joined  the  officer  on  duty  amid- 


MUTINY    OR    TREASON r  III 

ships,  and  the  two  walked  back  and  forth  together. 
At  an  ordinary  time  these  httle  incidents  would 
have  made  no  impression  on  my  mind,  but  now 
everything  seemed  to  have  a  suggestive  significance, 
and  around  it  all  the  calm  summer  sea,  blue  and 
sparkling,  and  not  a  sail  in  sight,  but  beyond  that 
horizon  to  the  westward  of  us  we  knew  that  nearly 
half  the  territory  of  our  country  was  in  avowed 
rebellion  against  the  government  to  which  we  all 
owed  allegiance.  What  plots  and  counterplots  were 
hatching  there  for  our  capture  we  could  not  tell. 

Presently  Randall  addressed  one  of  the  junior 
officers  on  duty.  "Coles,"  he  said,  "will  you 
oblige  me  by  going  aloft  with  the  glass,  and  see 
what  you  can  make  of  it?" 

"Certainly,  sir."  And  Coles,  who  was  an 
active  young  fellow,  went  aloft  like  a  topman,  and 
presently  reported,  "  It's  Hatteras  Light,  sir,  sure 
enough.     I  can  see  the  keeper's  house  now." 

"Very  good,  sir;  you  may  come  down.  Stand 
by  to  tack  ship,  Mr.  Fraser." 

Now  every  officer  on  deck  and  a  good  many  of 
the  men  who  had  an  intelligent  comprehension  of 
the  state  of  things  knew  what  this  order  meant, — 
namely,  Charleston  and  a  surrender  of  the  ship 
and  her  crew  to  the  Confederate  authorities.  This 
did  not  dawn  upon  me  at  first.     Then  it  suddenly 


112  JACK    BENSON S    LOG, 

flashed  upon  me  that  we  were  heading  ahnost  in 
the  direction  of  the  Delaware  Capes.  We  had 
sighted  Hatteras,  which  was,  so  to  speak,  the  turn- 
ing point  between  North  and  South.  To  go  about 
on  the  other  tack  meant  that  the  captain  had  made 
up  his  mind  to  run  for  Charleston ;  a  cold  shiver 
ran  down  my  back  as  I  realized  this. 

My  quarter-master  gripped  the  spoke  of  the 
wheel  with  a  hand  that  visibly  trembled,  and, 
although  he  did  not  speak  audibly,  I  was  in 
momentary  terror  lest  he  should  draw  his  revolver 
and  shoot  down  the  captain  where  he  stood. 

As  it  turned  out,  however,  there  was  no  danger 
of  this.  The  program  had  been  too  well  ar- 
ranged by  the  cool,  loyal  heads  that  had  had  the 
matter  in  charge.  In  pursuance  of  the  order,  the 
boatswain  piped  stations  and  the  watch  stood  by 
tacks  and  sheets  and  manned  the  braces. 

"  Give  her  a  good  full." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir." 

"All  ready  there?" 

"  All  ready,  sir." 

"  Hard  a  lee  then." 

The  quarter-master  and  I  simultaneously  threw 
our  weight  on  the  wheel  to  put  the  helm  down,  but 
not  an  inch  would  it  budge.  After  one  or  two  in- 
effectual efforts  he  sung  out :  — 


MUTINY    OR    TREASON?  II3 

"  Wheel's  jammed,  sir." 

"As  you  go,  then.  Mr.  Selden,  see  if  you  can 
find  out  what's  the  matter." 

Selden  came  up  the  gangway.  His  face  was 
very  pale,  but  he  did  not  flinch.  Walking  straight 
up  to  Randall  and  standing  close  to  him,  he  touched 
his  cap  in  due  form,  and  said  very  slowly  and 
distinctly  :  — 

"The  wheel  is  jammed.  Captain  Randall." 
"  Yes,  I  know^  that ;  go  and  get  it  cleared." 
"  The  —  wheel  —  is  —  jammed, —  sir  !  " 
I  will  not  repeat  here  the  precise  language  that 
Captain  Randall  used  at  this  juncture.     Suffice  it 
to  say  that  it  was  fluent  and  expressive.     Selden 
heard  him  through,   standing  before  him,   and  re- 
peated :  — 

"  The  zvhccl  is  /aiiimcd,  sir.'' 

At  this,  Randall,  literally  livid  with  rage,  faced 
about,  and  glanced  into  the  waist  of  the  ship.  The 
entire  crew  had  assembled  on  deck  without  orders, — 
rather  an  unusual  proceeding  on  board  a  man-of- 
war.  Randall  paled  a  little,  but  summoned  the 
orderly  who  was  on  duty. 

"  Tell  all  officers  to  report  on  deck  at  once." 
The     orderly    disappeared,    and    within     a    few 
seconds  several  of  the  junior  officers  were  at  their 
respective  stations. 


11^  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

"Where  are  Simonds,  and  Travers,  and  the 
rest?"  said  Randal'l  impatiently. 

Selden  was  still  standing  near  him.  He  had 
regained  his  usual  demeanor  now. 

"  The  wheel  is  jammed,  Captain  Randall,"  he 
said  again  and  he  could  not  quite  disguise  a  certain 
exultation  in  his  tone.  Randall  was  a  brave  and 
passionate  man,  but  he  knew  when  he  was  beaten, 
and,  with  marvelous  coolness,  accepted  the  situation. 

"Mr.  Fraser,"  he  said,  advancing  to  the  gang- 
way, "  there  seems  to  be  something  the  matter 
with  the  steering  gear ;  loose  the  headsails  if  she 
pays  off  too  much,  and  keep  her  on  her  course  for 
the  present.  Mr.  Selden,  will  you  come  below 
with  me?  " 

As  the  two  officers  disappeared  down  the  after 
companionway  I  think  nearly  every  one  on  deck 
drew  a  sigh  of  relief,  and  there  was  a  little  grumble 
of  congratulation,  not  unmingled  with  threats, 
passed  among  them  as  the  off-duty  men  began  to 
go  below,  while  the  watch  on  deck  coiled  away  the 
running  rigging. 

At  this  moment  I  was  aware,  partly  through  my 
grip  on  the  wheel  spokes  and  partly  through  the 
evidence  of  my  ears,  of  a  certain  clanking,  as  of  a 
chain  being  overhauled.  Presently  the  wheel 
surged  naturally  to  the  lift  of  the  sea,  the  compass 


MUTINY    OR    TREASON?  II5 

card  slowly  revolved  till  the  "lubber's  mark" 
touched  N.  W.  by  N.,  the  weather  leech  of  the 
topsail  shook  a  little,  and  the  quarter-master  winked 
profoundly  at  me  and  thrust  his  tongue  into  his 
cheek  as  two  men  came  aft  to  relieve  us. 

Everybody  felt  that  a  grave  crisis  w^as  safely 
passed,  but  very  few  knew  that  a  certain  volunteer 
from  among  the  ship's  boys  had  been  slung  over 
the  stern  in  a  bowline  an  hour  or  two  before,  and 
had  temporarily  shortened  the  rudder  chain  pend- 
ants with  a  rope  seizing,  so  that,  while  the  helm  was 
available  for  ordinary  steering,  it  could  not  be  put 
"  hard  over"  until  the  seizing  was  cast  off. 

What  passed  between  Randall  and  Selden  at 
their  interview  in  the  cabin  none  of  us  blue- 
jackets ever  knew,  but  they  both  came  on  deck 
after  an  hour  or  so,  and  walked  amicably  together 
while  the  watch  was  changing  at  eight  bells  that 
afternoon.  Nothing  more  was  said  about  tacking 
ship,  and  as  the  wind  held  from  the  southwest, 
we  made  the  Virginia  capes  before  morning,  and 
forty-eight  hours  later  were  safe  inside  the  break- 
water and  running  up  the  Delaware  between  the 
loyal  States  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey. 

For  the  benefit  of  landsmen,  it  should,  perhaps, 
be  explained  here  that  mutiny  .on  ship  board, 
even   in  the  merchant  service,  is  punishable  with 


ii6  JACK  Benson's  log. 

death.  In  the  navy,  where  discipHne  is  far  stricter, 
every  man  knows  that  he  takes  his  hfe  in  his 
hand  if  he  ventures  to  defy  his  superior.  The 
loyal  officers  of  the  "  Wakulla,"  therefore,  showed 
a  high  quahty  of  courage  when  they  conspired 
together  to  save  the  ship  to  the  government  to 
which  they  owed  allegiance.  Secession  was  not 
even  branded  as  a  punishable  offense.  Officers 
in  the  military  service  of  the  United  States 
had  willingly —  nay,  eagerly —  surrendered  ships, 
forts,  and  public  property,  and  were  not  even 
censured  by  the  Department. 

Such  were  the  doubts  and  distrust  that  unavoid- 
ably prevailed  at  Washington  under  conditions 
that  had  never  been  foreseen  that  peace  on  some 
terms  was  still  among  the  possibilities,  and  there 
was  no  telling  what  might  happen  to  officers  who 
interpreted  maritime  law  according  to  their  own 
personal  views  and  in  defiance  of  what  was  cer- 
tainly established  authority  at  the  time. 

Never,  I  suppose,  w^as  a  revolt  on  the  high  seas 
and  its  suppression  conducted  so  systematically  as 
was  this  one  on  the  Wakulla.  Not  a  single  muti- 
nous word  was  spoken  aloud  from  beginning  to 
end.  The  nearest  approach  to  it  was  Selden's 
reiterated  assertion  that  the  wheel  was  "  jammed," 
but    that    could    hardly    have    been    construed     as 


MUTINY    OR    TREASON?  Il7 

actual  mutiny.  It  is  a  question  for  sea  lawyers  to 
wrangle  over,  whether,  under  such  unprecedented 
circumstances,  treason  was  intended  on  one  side 
and  mutiny  justifiable  on  the  other. 

If  the  senior  officer  had  not  been  cool-headed 
enough  to  see  that  the  game  was  lost  he  would, 
without  question,  have  been  seized  and  put  in  irons. 
That  this  would  have  been  rank  mutiny  goes  with- 
out saying,  and  it  will  never  be  known  what  a 
court-martial  would  have  done  in  such  a  case.  No 
doubt  Selden  expressed  this  to  his  commander  in  a 
friendly  way  during  their  interview  in  the  cabin, 
and,  no  doubt,  he  explained,  too,  why  the  Southern 
officers  on  whose  help  Randall  had  relied  had  not 
found  it  altogether  convenient  to  obey  when  they 
were  ordered  on  deck. 

On  our  arrival  at  Philadelphia,  the  Southerners 
promptly  resigned  their  commissions,  the  only 
honorable  step  open  to  them  under  the  circum- 
stances, and  took  service  at  once  with  the  Con- 
federacy. 

There  was  a  general  paying  off  and  dispersion 
of  the  crew  on  our  arrival  at  the  navy  yard.  But 
most  of  them  re-enlisted  for  the  war  after  a  few 
days,  having  gotten  rid  of  their  money  in  the  mean- 
time, with  the  traditional  facility  of  sailor  men. 
Some  few  of  my  mates,  however,  who,  for  some 


ii8  JACK  Benson's  log. 

reason  or  other,  had  nowhere  to  go  and  no  inclina- 
tion to  squander  their  savings,  shouldered  their 
canvas  bags  with  me  and  went  over  to  the  receiv- 
ing ship  that  lay  alongside  the  wharf. 

This  was  an  old  dismantled  three-decker  that 
had  been  lying  in  the  mud  off  League  Island  from 
time  immemorial.  Slie  afforded  comfortable  quar- 
ters, however,  for  recruits,  and  we  were  soon  as- 
signed messes  during  our  stay.  I  was  presently 
drafted,  and  assigned  to  a  small  coasting  steamer 
that  had  just  been  purchased  for  the  government 
and  was  in  process  of  conversion  into  a  gunboat 
for  blockading  and  reconnoitering  duty  down  the 
coast. 

She  was  named  the  "  Otter,"  and  carried  two 
four-inch  pivot  rifles,  one  forward  and  the  other 
aft,  with  four  howitzers  amidships,  two  on  a  side. 
All  four  of  these,  however,  could  be  brought  into 
battery  on  either  side  in  case  of  need.  Although 
she  was  still  in  the  hands  of  riggers  and  ship  car- 
penters when  we  went  on  board,  I  could  see  that 
she  had  ship-shape  possibilities.  We  of  the  new 
draft  dumped  our  kits  in  the  wake  of  the  windlass, 
where  they  were  out  of  the  way,  and  patiently 
awaited  developments. 

Everything  was  in  confusion  on  board,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  land-lubberly  ways  of  the  workmen 


MUTINY    OR    TREASON?  IT9 

and  mechanics,  but  your  true  sailor  man  has  a  cer- 
tain compassionate  pity  for  fellow  mortals  who  are 
not  bred  to  the  sea,  so  we  sat  around  and  con- 
tented ourselves  with  ridiculing  these  honest  fellows 
who  were  fitting  up  our  future  home  for  us.  I 
am  bound  to  say  that  they  gave  back  as  good  as 
they  received,  so  that  in  the  end  we  became  fairly 
good  friends.  In  the  course  of  the  day,  we  some- 
how got  our  mess  assignments,  and  wrote  our 
names  or  made  our  marks  in  the  ship's  book  accord- 
ing to  the  degree  of  our  literary  accomplishments. 

The  work  of  bolting  down  traverse  circles, 
fitting  hatches,  reenforcing  timbers,  and  the  like 
went  on  by  shifts  day  and  night,  and,  finding  thaf 
there  would  be  no  such  thing  as  sleep  for  me  if  I 
remained  on  board,  I  proposed  to  another  boy  with 
whom  I  had  already  fraternized  that  we  should 
slip  ashore  and  camp  among  some  ship's  stores 
that  lay  under  a  shed  a  little  way  back  from  the 
wharf. 

Amid  the  prevailing  busde  it  was  not  difficult  for 
us  to  swing  ourselves  down  to  the  wharf,  and 
then,  watching  our  chance  when  the  guard  was 
looking  the  other  way,  to  slip  under  the  dark 
shadow  of  the  shed.  Here  we  soon  found  a  com- 
fortable retreat  among  certain  bales  of  blankets, 
and    slept  the    sleep  of   youth    and  innocence,    in 


I20  JACK  Benson's  log, 

defiance  of  naval  regulations  and  of  the  noisy 
hammers  of  the  workmen  who  made  night  hideous 
on  board  the  "  Otter."  I,  at  least,  was  totally  un- 
conscious until  daylight,  when,  by  the  merest  good 
luck,  my  companion  awoke  just  in  time  to  learn 
from  the  bustle  that  he  could  hear  outside  that  the 
"Otter"  was  actually  casting  off  her  lines  pre- 
paratory to  departure. 

We  made  a  desperate  run  for  it,  and  succeeded 
in  scrambling  aboard  by  the  chains  before  she 
swung  clear  of  the  wharf.  The  gang  of  mechan- 
ics, it  appeared,  was  to  accompany  her  down  the 
river,  to  be  brought  back  by  the  tug,  such  was  the 
haste,  in  those  early  days  of  the  war,  with  which 
vessels  were  equipped  for  service.  It  was  no  un- 
usual thing  to  start  on  a  voyage  without  knowing 
whether  the  engines  would  work  or  not.  No 
elaborate  trial  trips  were  possible  over  measured 
miles,  and  with  a  small  squadron  of  tenders  and 
time-keepers.  As  likely  as  not,  a  trial  trip  in  1861 
might  end  under  the  guns  of  a  rebel  battery  or  on 
some  blockading  station  where  fire  rafts  and 
cutting-out  expediiions  were  among  possibilities  by 
no  means  remote. 

In  reality,  however,  the  work  was  pretty  well 
along  in  our  case  before  we  started,  and  when  we 
reached  the  Delaware   breakwater  that    afternoon 


MUTINY    OR    treason:  121 

there  were  only  the  finishing  touches  to  be  added. 
The  engineer  had  gotten  up  steam  on  the  way 
down,  and  the  last  twenty  miles  we  had  run  with 
our  own  machinery.  Everything  appeared  to 
work  so  well  and  the  night  promised  to  be  so 
calm  that  it  was  decided  to  send  the  workmen 
back  on  the  tug  and  put  to  sea  at  once.  Accord- 
ingly, the  regular  watches  were  told  off,  the  decks 
were  swept,  and  just  before  sunset  the  little 
"  Otter"  rounded  the  breakwater,  pointed  her  nose 
to  the  South,  and  began  to  rise  and  fall  regularly 
on  the  Atlantic  swells. 

From  Delaware  Bay  to  the  Chesapeake  is  only 
a  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  but  our  engines  had 
been  largely  made  over,  and,  like  all  new  ma- 
chinery, must  be  treated  with  much  tenderness. 
We  proceeded,  therefore,  under  easy  steam,  the 
engineers  having  orders  to  take  no  risks,  and  by 
afternoon  of  the  next  day  entered  Hampton 
Roads. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE    otter's    first    PRIZE. 

THE  mouth  of  Chesapeake  Bay  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Fortress  Monroe  assumed  great 
importance  as  soon  as  hostiHties  fairly  began. 
The  proclamation  of  the  blockade  naturally 
brought  together  a  considerable  fleet  in  Hampton 
Roads,  and  the  near  vicinity  of  the  navy  yard  at 
Norfolk,  now  in  Confederate  hands,  and  of  Rich- 
mond, shortly  to  be  the  Confederate  capital,  ren- 
dered it  necessary  to  maintain  a  considerable  force 
at  that  point.  As  we  came  up  to  our  anchorage, 
we  could  see  the  rebel  flag  flying  over  a  newly 
erected  earthwork,  just  out  of  range  on  our  port 
bow,  but  on  the  opposite  shore  the  stars  and 
stripes  floated  over  the  grim  fortress  and  over 
extensive  camps  beyond,  which  showed  that  the 
North  was  responding  in  earnest  to  the  president's 
call  for  troops.  We  let  go  the  anchor  and  re- 
ported to  the  flagship,  Captain  Ross,  no  doubt, 
explaining  how  we  had  left  Philadelphia  with 
workmen    on    board,    and    had    hastened    our    de- 


THE    otter's    first    PRIZE.  I23 

parture  to  such  a  degree  that  it  would  take  us,  at 
least,  t\vent3'-four  hours  to  tinish  getting  to  rights. 

Commodore  Stringham,  an  officer  of  the  old 
navy,  was  at  this  time  in  command  of  the  "  North 
Atlantic"  Squadron,  having  charge  nominally  of 
the  entire  coast.  At  this  time,  only  a  few  days 
after  the  proclamation,  he  had  not  been  able  to 
enforce  the  blockade  with  any  degree  of  strin- 
gency, and  it  was  necessary,  besides,  for  him  to 
retain  a  sufficient  fleet  to  meet  emergencies  at 
Hampton  Roads  itself.  His  flagship  was  the  fine 
steam  frigate,  "Minnesota." 

After  leaving  us  the  needed  time  to  complete  our 
repairs,  that  is  to  sav  until  afternoon  of  the  day  fol- 
lowinof,  the  old  crentleman  came  alongside  in  his 
twelve-oared  barge,  and  was  piped  up  the  gang- 
way in  as  good  shape  as  we  could  manage  with 
our  new  crew.  He  had  us  called  to  quarters,  and 
looked  us  over  from  the  batter}^  to  magazine, 
asking  shrewd,  seaman-like  questions  about  our 
draught,  and  how  much  coal  we  carried,  and  all 
the  rest. 

As  he  passed  my  station  in  company  with  the 
captain,  I  overheard  the  latter  ask  him  :  — 

"  May  I  make  a  little  trial  trip  to-morrow,  com- 
modore? I'd  like  to  see  if  the  machinery  works  all 
right  at  full  speed." 


124  JACK    BENSON S    LOG. 

Permission  was  granted,  but  the  commodore 
added : — ■ 

"  Don't  start  till  I  signal  you  about  it.  I  may 
want  to  have  you  go  in  some  particular  direction." 

The  next  morning,  about  ten  o'clock,  our  number 
went  fluttering  up  to  the  peak  of  the  flagship  with 
a  string  of  colored  pennants  below  it,  which  read, 
"Captain,  come  aboard  flagship." 

The  gig  was  called  awa}-,  and,  as  I  was  told  off  as 
bow  boy  in  the  captain's  crew,  I  swung  myself 
down  from  the  boom  into  my  place ;  the  oarsmen 
followed,  and  in  a  moment  we  were  skimming 
away  over  the  dimpling  water  toward  the  big  flag- 
ship. 

The  "  Minnesota  "  was  one  of  fl\'e  screw  frigates 
that  were  finished  shortly  before  the  Civil  War. 
They  were  probably  the  finest  vessels  of  their  kind 
ever  built  anywhere,  outmatching  vessels  of  their 
class  in  all  the  navies  of  Europe.  They  were 
rated  at  about  thirty-five  hundred  tons  displacement, 
and  carried  fifty-two  guns  of  the  heaviest  calibre 
then  in  use  afloat.  They  were  the  last  of  their 
type,  for  "iron  pots"  were  just  coming  in,  and 
fighting  navies  had  no  further  use  for  wooden 
walls. 

I  had  been  watching  this  magnificent  ship  ever 
since  we  anchored  at  a  little  distance  from  her,  but 


THE    OTTERS    FIRST    PRIZE.  125 

I  had  no  conception  of  her  size  until  a  nearer 
approach.  As  we  rounded  to  by  the  starboard 
gangway  and  I  caught  the  mooring  ring  with  my 
boathook,  it  seemed  to  me  that  we  were  alongside 
a  veritable  floating  fortress,  the  long  range  of  black 
muzzled  cannon  protruding  from  the  open  ports, 
the  massive  curving  sides,  topped  with  a  row  of 
white  hammocks,  and  over  all  the  slender  lofty 
spars,  draped  at  this  moment  with  canvas  shaken 
out  to  dry,  all  combined  to  impress  me  with  a 
feeling  very  akin  to  awe. 

I  could  dimly  remember  a  somewhat  similar 
sensation  when,  as  a  child  of  tender  3^ears,  my 
father  took  me  on  board  the  "  Molly  Pitcher,"  and 
again  when,  a  brief  two  months  before,  I  had,  for 
the  first  time,  climbed  the  side  of  the  old  "Con- 
stitution." 

But  here  surely  was  a  ship  invincible.  I  would 
have  matched  her  against  anything  afloat  without 
a  moment's  hesitation.  Indeed,  I  was  not  far  out 
in  my  estimate  of  her  powers,  though  I  little 
thought  that  in  less  than  a  year  from  that  ver}^  time 
I  should  see  her  at  the  mercy  of  her  once  sister 
ship,  the  "  Merrimac,"  then  lying  in  the  mud  at 
Norfolk  navy  yard,  hardly  a  dozen  miles  distant. 

We  of  the  crew  sat  in  the  boat  speculating  as  to 
the  fighting  power  of  the  "  Minnesota,"  while  the 


126  JACK  Benson's  log. 

captain  went  np  the  gangway  to  report.  lie  was 
detained  only  a  few  minutes,  and  presently  came 
down  again  in  lively  fashion,  looking  as  hippy  as 
a  boy  with  a  holiday  in  prospect,  and  gave  orders 
to  pull  back  to  the  "  Otter." 

Of  course  he  did  not  say  a  word  to  any  of  his 
boat's  crew  ;  that  wouldn't  have  been  etiquette,  but 
no  sooner  had  he  disappeared  on  deck  than  the 
boatswain  piped  "  All  boats  aboard,"  and  while 
we  were  making  fast  the  falls  we  could  hear  the 
clank  of  the  windlass  for'ard  as  the  cable  was  hove 
short. 

The  boats  were  all  at  the  davits  in  a  few  minutes, 
and  then  came  the  cry,  "  Man  the  starboard  gang- 
way," and  presently  Commodore  Stringham,  the 
flag  officer,  came  aboard  with  one  of  his  staff. 
He  had  the  confidence,  I  think,  of  his  entire  com- 
mand, and  after  leading  his  fleet  to  the  first  con- 
spicuous success  of  the  war  on  land  or  sea, 
every  one  thought  that  he  was  the  coming  man  as  a 
naval  commander,  but,  for  some  reason  or  other, 
he  was  shelved  by  the  Department  and  given  an 
inglorious  command  on  shore  duty. 

"  No,  captain,  you  needn't  set  my  flag,"  I  heard 
him  say  as  he  walked  forward.  "  I'll  just  go  along 
as  a  passenger.  Run  her  out  past  the  Capes  and 
see  how  she  takes  the  sea." 


THE    OTTERS    FIRST    PRIZE.  I27 

So  the  anchor  was  catted ;  the  captain  started 
easy,  but  presently  gave  her  "  four  bells,"  the  sig- 
nal for  full  speed,  for  the  first  time  since  leaving 
Philadelphia,  and  we  went  spinning  out  past  the 
grim,  gray  fortress,  and  out  between  the  Capes 
half  a  dozen  miles  to  sea.  The  engines  had  to  be 
stopped  once  or  twice  on  account  of  heated  jour- 
nals, but  this  was  no  more  than  was  to  be  expected, 
and,  upon  the  whole,  for  a  makeshift  gunboat  she 
behaved  admirably. 

Returning,  we  ran  through  the  fleet,  and  headed 
for  the  mouth  of  James  River,  Sewell's  Point 
taking  a  crack  at  us  as  we  steamed  past,  but  the 
shot  mostly  fell  short  or  went  wide  of  us,  so  we 
took  no  notice  whatever,  but  went  on  up  the  river 
toward  Richmond  till  it  narrowed  so  that  it  was 
hardly  safe  to  proceed  farther. 

Richmond  was  not  as  yet  the  capital  of  the  Con- 
federac}',  and  the  banks  of  the  James  had  not  yet 
echoed  to  the  sound  of  contending  armies.  All 
was  as  peaceful,  save  for  certain  uncompleted 
earthworks  that  we  passed,  as  it  had  been  since 
the  first  settlers  came  in  and  made  themselves 
homes  along  its  fertile  shores. 

As  a  New  England  boy,  I  knew  that  two  of  the 
very  earliest  settlements  on  the  shores  of  this 
Western  Continent  had  contained  the  elements  of 


128  JACK  Benson's  log. 

discord  that  were  just  now  bearing  fruit  in  civil 
war.  My  own  home  was  not  far  from  where  a 
little  band  had  landed  with  freedom  and  liberty  for 
its  watchword.  Here,  on  the  contrar}/^,  I  found 
myself  in  sight  of  the  first  settlement  where  negro 
slavery  was  brought  to  the  shores  of  America,  and 
I  looked  upon  it  from  the  deck  of  a  gunboat  pre- 
pared to  defend  the  nation  against  a  rebellion,  the 
strength  of  which  was  not  as  yet  realized.* 

Of  course,  I  did  not  formulate  all  this  even  in 
my  own  mind,  but  I  think  I  dimly  realized  the 
significance  of  it  all,  and  determined  to  do  my  duty 
though  I  was  only  a  "  powder  monkey." 

After  going  as  far  as  was  deemed  prudent,  and 
making  no  discoveries  of  importance,  we  returned 
to  our  anchorage.  Our  friends  on  the  Point  were 
ready  for  us  as  we  came  back,  seeming  desirous, 
apparently,  of  expending  their  ammunition  on  the 
slightest  possible  pretext.  A  few  days  afterward 
the  Richmond  papers  referred  to  the  affair  as  one 
which  reflected  unbounded  credit  upon  the  artiller- 
ists, a  formidable  naval  attack  having  been  beaten 
off  and  the  enemy  compelled  to  withdraw,  appar- 
ently in  a  disabled  condition.  Such  exaggerated 
accounts  of  trifling  affairs  of  this  character  were 
far  too  common  on  both  sides  during  the  early  days 

*  See  note  at  end  of  the  chapter. 


THE    otter's    first    PRIZE.  1 29 

of  the  war,  when  neither  side  knew  what  serious 
work  really  meant,  and  every  editor  considered  it 
his  duty  to  encourage  the  volunteers  to  the  extent 
of  his  ability,  regardless  of  the  truth. 

This  little  picnic  excursion  we  soon  found  had 
been  undertaken  by  the  commodore  in  order  to 
satisfy  himself  regarding  our  state  of  discipline  and 
efficiency  for  more  important  service.  Seemingly 
he  was  fairl}'  well  satisfied,  with  the  performance, 
for  we  had  been  able  to  show  him  a  speed  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  knots  an  hour,  which  was  pretty 
well  for  a  gunboat  in  those  days. 

As  a  crew  we  had  hardly  as  yet  settled  down  to 
good  naval  form,  but  Captain  Ross  was  well  known 
to  be  a  good  disciplinarian  and  a  good  commander, 
so,  as  he  was  lucky  enough  to  have  the  most  effi- 
cient light  draught  gunboat  that  had  as  yet  joined 
the  fleet,  we  of  the  crew  thought  we  were  pretty 
certain  to  see  some  active  service  before  long. 

Sure  enough,  we  received  orders  the  next  day  to 
take  on  all  the  coal  we  could  make  room  for,  and 
closely  following  this  came  the  orders  to  sail. 
Precisely  what  these  instructions  were  nobody  save 
the  captain  knew,  but  there  was  general  rejoicing 
that,  at  least,  we  were  not  going  to  be  kept  indefi- 
nitely lying  in  the  inglorious  security  of  Hampton 
Roads. 


130  JACK    BENSON'S    LOG. 

As  soon  as  it  was  dark  enough  to  hide  our 
movements  from  the  enemy's  lookout  on  Sewell's 
Point  we  got  under  way  as  silently  as  possible, 
and  stood  out  to  sea,  turning  to  the  southward.  It 
was  with  something  of  nervousness,  hardly  ac- 
knowledged to  myself,  that  I  watched  the  light  on 
Cape  Charles  sink  out  of  sight  astern.  South  of 
this  not  a  single  lighthouse,  so  far  as  we  knew, 
now  sent  out  its  friendly  beams  over  the  desolate 
sea.  The  Confederates  had  extinguished  them  all 
as  soon  as  the  acts  of  secession  were  passed. 

Often  they  had  wantonly  smashed  the  costly  re- 
fracting lanterns,  and  destroyed  the  complicated 
machinery,  apparently  for  no  reason  excepting 
that  there  was  no  one  to  prevent  them  from  doing 
it.  In  one  or  two  instances  the  lighthouse  keep- 
ers had  made  a  show  of  opposition,  and  in  one 
case,  at  least  (at  Cape  Canaveral),  the  lantern 
and  its  belongings  were  carried  away  and  hidden 
by  the  keeper  and  saved  from  certain  destruction. 
It  should  be  said,  however,  that  this  was  not  done 
from  any  sense  of  lo3Aalty  to  the  United  States,  but 
simply  because  the  keeper  could  not  bear  to  have 
a  fine  piece  of  machinery  destroyed  for  which  he 
felt  a  certain  personal  attachment. 

Keeping  well  off  the  coast,  daylight  found  us  off 
Cape    Hatteras,    and    shortly   afterward  we  were 


THE    OTTERS    FIRST    PRIZE.  I3I 

cautiously  approaching  Hatteras  Inlet,  twelve 
miles  south  of  the  cape,  which  was  the  principal 
navigable  entrance  to  Pamlico  Sound. 

Here  it  was  rumored  that  the  rebels  were  erect- 
ing fortifications,  and  we  cautiously  sounded  our 
way  in,  the  captain  conning  the  ship  from  the 
foremast  crosstrees.  Like  a  prudent  navigator, 
he  had  consulted  the  nautical  almanac  before  his 
arrival,  and  had  timed  it  so  as  to  make  the  bar 
when  the  tide  was  runnincr  flood.  A  long,  smooth 
swell  was  bursting  over  bars  and  beaches,  and  even 
from  the  deck,  as  we  drew  in  toward  the  land,  we 
could  judge  the  depth,  of  the  water  by  its  color. 

It  was  not  the  captain's  intention,  however, 
seriously  to  engage  any  fortifications  or  vessels 
that  might  be  found  here.  His  object  was  simply 
to  reconnoiter,  and  we  were  all  reasonably  confi- 
dent that  we  had  the  heels  of  anything  at  that 
time  floating  the  Confederate  flag. 

Any  one  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  look  at  a 
map  of  the  North  Atlantic  coast  must  be  forcibly 
impressed  by  the  ingratitude  of  the  republic  to 
beneficent  nature.  Almost  the  entire  coast  from 
the  Chesapeake  to  the  extremity  of  Florida  is 
adapted  by  nature  to  encourage  the  pursuit  of  com- 
merce, and  yet  this  great  and  intelligent  republic  has 
not  taken  advantage  of  it  even  to  this  very  day. 


132  JACK    BENSON S    LOG. 

All  along  this  stretch  of  coast  a  succession  of 
outlying  bars,  and  islands,  and  peninsulas  lies  a 
few  miles  or  a  few  rods  off  the  mainland,  forming 
sheltered  sounds  and  estuaries  near  a  thousand 
miles  in  extent.  On  one  side  the  wild  Atlantic 
thunders  ceaselessly  in  storm  and  calm ;  on  the 
other  side  peaceful  waters  lap  the  sand  and  storm- 
driven  coasters  find  a  safe  anchorage.  These 
sheltered  sounds  are  connected  with  the  ocean  by 
numerous  inlets  which  vary  in  depth,  according  to 
the  force  and  direction  of  the  wind,  the  state  of 
the  tide,  the  outflow  of  fresh  water,  and  a  hundred 
other  conditions  that  combine  to  puzzle  the  enter- 
prising navigator. 

The  Confederate  authorities  were  prompt  to 
recognize  the  importance  of  fortifying  the  more 
considerable  of  these  inlets,  and  no  sooner  had 
the  rich  prize  of  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard  fallen  into 
their  hands  than  they  set  about  transporting  guns 
and  war  material  to  Hatteras  and  Okracoke  Inlets. 
The  first  named  of  these  is  only  a  few  miles  south 
of  the  stormy  cape  from  which  it  takes  its  name, 
and,  although  its  habits  in  the  matter  of  shifting 
sands  and  the  like  are  very  irregular,  still  they  are 
far  more  regular  than  those  of  its  fellows.  Indeed, 
it  is  the  most  accessible  of  any  of  the  entrances  to 
the  North  Carolina  sounds. 


THE    otter's    first    PRIZE.  I33 

Hatteras  Inlet  has  an  outer  bar  rather  more  than 
a  mile  from  the  beach,  with  about  fourteen  feet  of 
water  at  high  tide.  Then  there  is  an  inner  bar 
known  as  the  Bulkhead,  which,  at  ordinary  tides, 
has  only  about  seven  feet  of  water.  From  these 
depths  it  would  appear  that  only  small  vessels  can 
find  their  way  in  and  out,  but  with  the  south- 
easterly winds  which  are  of  quite  frequent  occur- 
rence, the  water,  in  some  mysterious  way,  banks 
up  over  these  bars,  until  large  vessels,  under  skilful 
pilotage,  can  make  their  way  in  and  out  without 
danger.  Over  either  of  these  bars  we,  with  our  light 
draught,  could  pass  with  impunity,  and  in  the  com- 
paratively quiet  water  between  the  two  could  make 
our  observations  without  danger  from  hostile  guns. 

At  this  time  the  privateers  and  blockade  runners 
were  having  it  all  their  own  way  in  the  North 
CaroHna  sounds,  and  Hatteras  Inlet  afforded  them 
their  principal  means  of  egress  and  entry.  Qiiite 
a  number  of  coasting  vessels  had  already  been 
captured  by  Confederate  privateers,  and  British 
blockade  runners  were  already  beginning  to  per- 
ceive the  opportunity  that  was  opening  for  them. 
A  small  fleet  was  anchored  inside  the  beach,  while 
we  could  see  a  considerable  force  of  men  at  work, 
apparently  throwing  up  fortifications  on  both  sides 
of  the  inlet. 


134  JACK    BENSON S    LOG. 

Running  in  within  easy  range,  we  gave  them  a 
few  shots  from  our  bow  rifle,  not  with  the  intention 
of  doing  any  damage,  but  in  order  to  invite  a  reply 
in  kind,  so  that  we  could  learn  the  calibre  and 
range  of  their  artillery.  Some  old  hand  was  ap- 
parently in  charge,  however,  for  as  soon  as  the 
first  shell  was  fired  the  men  took  to  cover  and  only 
showed  themselves  long  enough  to  induce  us  to 
fire  again.  No  heavy  guns  were  as  yet  ready  for 
service. 

So,  after  getting  as  good  an  idea  as  possible  of 
the  intended  works,  we  steamed  away  down  to 
Okracoke,  eighteen  miles  away,  and  repeated 
our  investigations  in  that  vicinit}'.  Nothing  was 
doing  there,  and  by  mid-afternoon  we  were  re- 
passing Hatteras  on  our  return  northward,  when  a 
sail  was  reported  in  the  offing,  and  a  few  ininutes' 
observation  showed  that  she  was  standing  in  for 
the  inlet. 

Our  course  was  altered  at  once  so  as  to  intercept 
her  and  ascertain  her  character,  for  if  she  should 
prove  to  be  a  blockade  runner  it  was  well  to  have 
her  as  far  from  her  friends  as  possible,  and  if  she 
should  be  a  privateer,  why,  then  our  chances  would 
be  so  much  the  better  in  the  open  sea.  In  an  hour 
we  were  able  to  make  her  out  as  a  large  brigantine 
pretty   well    down    in    the    water    and,    therefore, 


THE    otter's    first    PRIZE.  I35 

probably  not  a  privateer.  We  set  our  ensign  and 
rounded  to,  indicating  a  wish  to  communicate. 
She  showed  Enghsh  colors  and  kept  on  her  way. 
We  then  fired  the  customary  gun,  but  Johnny  Bull 
took  no  notice  ;  upon  which  we  gave  him  a  solid 
shot  across  his  bows,  which  convinced  him  that  we 
meant  business.  Accordingl}-,  the  English  cap- 
tain threw  his  foreyard  aback,  and  stood  at  the 
taffrail  bellowing  something  through  a  speaking 
trumpet,  but  he  was  to  leeward  and  we  could  not 
hear  what  he  said,  except  that  it  sounded  very  much 
as  if  he  was  in  a  great  state  of  rage.  So  Captain 
Ross  sent  a  boat  with  an  officer  to  examine  his 
papers.  In  a  few  minutes  he  returned,  reporting 
that  it  was  a  clear  case  of  blockade  running,  the 
Englishman  having  sailed  from  Bermuda  with  a 
contraband  cargo  for  one  of  the  North  Carolina 
ports,  and  with  full  knowledge  of  the  president's 
blockade  proclamation. 

"He  says,"  added  the  lieutenant,  "that  the 
blockade  is  nothing  but  paper,  anyway,  and  he  is 
going  on  as  soon  as  he  gets  ready." 

Sure  enough,  the  men  were  already  hauling 
her  head  sails  to  windward,  preparatory  to  filling 
the  brigantine  away  again  on  her  course. 

Captain  Ross  now  hailed  from  the  bridge.  We 
had  drifted  nearer  together.      "This  is  the  United 


136  JACK  Benson's  log. 

States  blockading  steamer  '  Otter.'  Heave  to  or 
I'll  fire  into  you." 

"  This  is  the  British  brigantine  '  Argo.'  Fire  if 
you  dare." 

Captain  Ross  spoke  to  his  lieutenant,  who  went 
to  one  of  the  broadside  guns.  "  Let  him  have  it 
through  the  foresail,  gunner ;  don't  damage  his 
spars  if  you  can  help  it;  fire  as  she  rises." 

The  gunner  sighted  carefully,  and  as  she  rose 
on  a  second  roll  pulled  his  lanyard.  A  big  rent 
appeared  in  the  square  foresail  of  the  brigantine. 

"  Is  that  enough?  "  Ross  hailed  from  the  bridge. 

"  No,  you  Yankee  pirate,  it  ain't  enough,  and 
you'll  sweat  for  this,"  the  Englishman  replied,  with 
considerable  unnecessary  language  in  addition, 
which  I  will  not  here  repeat. 

By  this  time  the  brigantine  had  gained  some 
headway,  and  we  had  rounded  to  nearly  alongside 
of  her,  keeping  pace  with  her  under  easy  steam. 

"  Look  here,"  said  Captain  Ross,  keeping  his 
temper  and  hailing  again.  "Don't  you  see  that 
I  can  blow  you  out  of  the  water  in  two  minutes,  if 
I  choose?  Throw  your  ship  up  in  the  wind,  or 
take  the  consequences." 

The  Englishman  looked  forward  at  his  split 
foresail  and  glanced  at  the  guns  that  were  trained 
upon  him,   and  decided  that,  after  all,  it  looked  as 


THE    otter's    first    PRIZE.  I37 

though  the  blockade  was  something  more  than 
a  paper  one.  So  he  concluded  to  obey  orders, 
and  brought  his  vessel  into  the  wind  again,  while 
preparations  were  hastily  made  on  the  "  Otter"  to 
send  a  prize  crew  on  board  and  start  the  captured 
vessel  for  New  York. 

Negro  Slavery.  In  August,  1619,  a  Dutch  warship  arrived  at 
Jamestown,  Virginia,  with  twenty  African  negroes,  whom  the  settlers 
bought,  and  they  became  bondmen.  Thus  was  slavery  established 
at  the  South.  In  1646  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  sent 
back  to  their  native  land  two  Africans  who  had  been  captured  in  a 
slave  hunt,  and  pronounced  "  man  stealing"  a  capital  offense.  Thus 
was  the  idea  of  equal  rights  for  all  affirmed  at  the  North.  So 
profitable  was  the  slave  trade,  however,  that  England  insisted  that 
slavery  should  be  recognized  as  lawful  in  all  her  American  colonies, 
and  so  it  remained  until  independence  was  achieved,  when  the 
Northern  States,  led  by  Vermont,  began  to  pass  laws  for  its  sup- 
pression. The  Southern  idea  was  that  certain  human  creatures 
might  properly  be  held  in  perpetual  bondage,  while  the  Northern 
theory  pronounced  all  men  —  including  negroes^ free  and  equal. 
With  these  irreconcilable  ideas  as  to  human  rights,  the  two  sections, 
North  and  South,  grew  until  they  began  to  crowd  one  another,  and 
each  insisted  that  the  other  should  adopt  its  ideas.  Neither  would 
yield,  and  the  question  had  to  be  settled  by  war.  The  North  won, 
being  richer  and  stronger  than  the  Sonth,  and  so,  in  1863,  the  slaves 
were  emancipated  by  President  Lincoln,  and  the  doctrine  of  equal 
rights,  as  declared  by  Plymouth  Colonj  in  1620,  became  the  law  of 
the  whole  land. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


A    RUNNING    FIGHT. 


A  DOZEN  men  were  hastily  told  off,  and  one 
of  the  junior  officers  detailed  to  take  the 
prize  to  New  York.  Even  a  man-o'-wars  man 
needs  a  few  minutes  to  pack  when  ordered  to 
change  his  quarters,  and  while  the  men  were 
hastily  thrusting  a  change  of  clothing  into  canvas 
bags,  and  throwing  the  latter  into  the  boat  that 
was  already  alongside,  the  lookout  hailed :  — 
"  Two  steamers  coming  out  of  the  inlet,  sir." 
We  had  run  out  so  far  from  land  to  meet  our 
prize  that  the  low  coast  line  was  now  invisible  from 
the  deck,  and  we  could  see  only  two  feathery 
lines  of  smoke  in  the  direction  from  which  we  had 
come.  Captain  Ross  sprang  into  the  rigging  with 
his  glass,  and  by  going  half  way  up  to  the  mast- 
head was  able  to  make  out  two  river  craft,  side 
wheelers,  just  crossing  the  bulkhead. 

Black  smoke  was  pouring  from  their  funnels, 
and  they  straightway  headed  up  the  coast  with  the 
apparent  intention  of  cutting  us  off  from  our  re- 

138 


A    RUNNING    FIGHT.  I39 

cently  captured  prize.  Jacky  is,  or  always 
should  be,  ready  for  a  fight,  but  he  is  peculiarly 
pugnacious  in  temperament  when  what  he  regards 
as  rightfully  earned  prize  money  is  in  danger. 
None  of  us  knew,  of  course,  the  value  of  the 
brigantine's  cargo,  but  it  did  not  lose  anything  in 
our  estimation  on  that  account. 

It  was  enough  that  we  had  gathered  that  this 
cargo  was  in  the  main  composed  of  war  material 
destined  for  the  Confederacy,  and  war  material  in 
those  days  was  worth  a  very  pretty  sum.  At  any 
rate,  seventy-five  or  a  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
divided  among  our  crew  of  eighty  men  and  boys, 
would  not  come  amiss,  and  even  if  the  sum  total 
were  considerably  less  than  that  it  was  at  least 
worth  fighting  for.  If  we  foremast  hands  had 
been  consulted,  I  don't  doubt  but  we  should  have 
voted  unanimously  to  go  about,  meet  the  rebel 
craft  half  way,  and  sink  them  both,  or  be  sunk 
ourselves  before  another  hour  had  passed. 

Fortunately,  the  commanders  of  United  States 
vessels  are  usually  possessed  of  cooler  heads  than 
are  common  between  decks.  When  Captain  Ross 
had  finished  his  survey  he  replaced  his  marine 
glass  in  its  leather  case  and  swung  himself  down 
to  the  deck  as  coolly  as  if  he  had  merely  gone  aloft 
to  watch  a  school  of  porpoises  play.     He  walked 


140  JACK    BENSON S    LOG. 

across  to  the  side  where  the  prize  men  were  ahnost 
ready  to  shove  off,  with  young  Mr.  Casey  in  the 
stern  sheets. 

"I  meant  to  have  a  word  with  you,  Casey, 
before  you  went,"  the  captain  called,  as  he  leaned 
over  the  rail ;  "  but  no  matter,  I  can  tell  you  here 
just  as  well.  Bend  a  new  foresail  as  soon  as  you 
can,  and  square  away  for  New  York  under  every- 
thing she  will  carry.  Keep  well  off  shore  to  clear 
the  shoals  north  of  Cape  Hatteras.  If  that  English 
skipper  cuts  up  rough,  put  him  in  irons  without  any 
hesitation." 

Blue-jackets  are  not  very  often  privileged  to  be 
present  when  private  instructions  are  given  to  their 
official  superiors.  There  were  broad  grins  on  the 
faces  of  the  boat's  crew,  as  well  as  on  the  long  line 
of  sun-burned  countenances  that  hung  over  the 
"Otter's"  rail.  Jacky  greatly  relished  summary 
measures  with  the  captain  of  the  prize. 

"  Very  good,  sir,"  Casey  replied  ;  "  I'll  see  to  it, 
sir.     Shove  off." 

The  men  tossed  their  oars  into  the  rowlocks  ;  the 
heavily  laden  boat  swung  awa}^  from  the  side,  and 
soon  transferred  its  load  to  the  prize.  To  pull 
back  and  be  hoisted  to  its  own  davits  was  but  the 
work  of  a  few  moments.  The  "  Otter  "  had  been 
practically  cleared  for  action  all  day,  so  we  had 


A    RUNNING    FIGHT.  I4I 

nothing  to  do  but  to  possess  our  souls  in  patience 
and  divide  our  time  between  watching  the  approach 
of  the  steamers  and  commenting  on  the  alacrity 
with  which  young  Casey  made  his  presence  felt  on 
board  the  "  Argo." 

We  took  position  just  under  the  lee  of  the  prize, 
so  as  to  be  at  hand  if  anything  happened,  and  were 
so  near  that  we  could  see  and  could  even  hear  by 
snatches  everything  that  took  place  on  her  sloping 
deck.  The  burly,  red-faced  skipper  was  walking 
up  and  down  on  the  quarter-deck,  raging  inwardly, 
no  doubt,  at  the  indignity  thus  heaped  upon  him. 

Young  Casey  had  stationed  two  well-armed 
Jackies  aft  with  a  third  at  the  wheel  to  watch  the 
"old  man,"  and  had  himself  gone  forward  to  see 
if  the  new  foresail  was  all  right.  That  work  was 
well  under  way  in  charge  of  an  old  sailor  man  who 
knew  far  more  about  bending  sails  then  Casey 
himself  did,  so  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  some- 
what sullen-looking  group  comprising  the  crew  of 
the  brigantine,  who  had  gathered  on  the  forecastle, 
neither  helping  nor  hindering  the  work  in  hand. 
To  them  Casey  addressed  himself ;  although  the 
distance  was  too  great  for  us  to  hear  his  words,  we 
could  understand  pretty  well  what  he  was  saying. 
At  any  rate,  the  men  listened  and  seemed  to  consult 
among  themselves  quite  earnestly  as  he  walked  aft. 


142  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

Casey  took  the  weather  side  of  the  deck,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  the  skipper  continuing  his  wrath- 
ful walk  and  paying  no  attention  whatever  to  the 
somewhat  cockey  youngster  in  blue  uniform  who 
was  thus  invading  his  domain.  Presently  Casey 
spoke  to  him,  and  he  stopped  abruptly  in  his  walk, 
with  indignation  bristling  from  every  hair  of  his 
head.  He  stood  with  his  feet  wide  apart,  sailor 
fashion,  his  arms  akimbo,  and  his  whole  attitude 
expressive  of  outraged  Insular  dignity.  Casey  ad- 
dressed a  few  words  to  him,  and  then  began  walking 
back  and  forth,  as  the  skipper  had  walked  before. 

So  far  as  I  could  hear,  nothing  further  was  said, 
but  the  skipper's  face  grew  so  much  redder  than 
before,  as  he  stood  rooted  to  the  deck,  that  I  ex- 
pected to  see  him  fall  down  in  an  apoplectic  fit. 
Instead  of  this,  however,  after  puffing  out  his 
cheeks  for  a  moment,  he  mechanically  took  off  his 
cap  with  his  left  hand,  and  began  to  rub  the  back 
of  his  head  with  his  right.  He  continued  doing 
this  for  fully  two  minutes,  meanwhile  watching 
Casey  as  if  uncertain  whether  to  throw  him  over- 
board or  not.  Then  he  suddenly  clapped  his  hat 
on  his  liead,  and  dived  down  the  companionway 
into  the  cabin,  whence,  as  we  afterwards  learned, 
he  did  not  emerge  till  the  "  Argo  "  dropped  anchor 
in  New  York  Harbor. 


A    RUNNING    FIGHT.  I43 

Sympathetic  grins  and  sundry  appreciative 
winks  were  interchanged  among  the  members  of 
our  crew.  Casey  was  rather  a  favorite  among  us, 
and  we  were  glad  to  see  him  estabhsh  his  official 
standing  as  commander  of  the  "prize";  not  much 
danger,  we  thought,  that  the  crew  would  be  able 
to  capture  that  vessel  before  she  reached  her  des- 
tination. Casey  stopped  walking  as  soon  as  the 
captain  was  out  of  sight,  looked  at  his  watch,  and 
hailed  the  forecastle. 

"  Time's  up,  men,"  he  called.      "  Lay  aft  here." 

The  men  slouched  aft  in  a  straggling  procession, 
as  ordered,  and  gathered  in  a  group  in  front  of  the 
youthful  prize-master.  We  could  not  hear  what 
was  said,  but  could  see  that  Casey  was  talking  to 
them  in  an  earnest  way,  and,  upon  the  whole,  the 
interview  seemed  to  be  satisfactor}-.  For,  after  an 
appeal  to  the  men  and  a  seeming  motion  of  assent 
all  round,  he  spoke  loud  enough  for  us  to  catch 
his  repl}'. 

"  That's  good  ;  I  am  glad  that  you  take  a  sensi- 
ble view  of  the  case.  Many  hands  will  make  light 
work,  and  I  should  have  been  very  sorr}^  to  have  to 
put  any  of  you  in  irons.  Go  forward  now  and  get 
that  foresail  bent  as  soon  as  possible." 

Then  followed  an  interview  with  the  mate  and 
sub-officers  of  the  brigantine,  who  apparently  ex- 


144  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

pressed  their  willingness  to  resume  their  old  duties 
so  far  as  concerned  their  own  men.  All  sail  was 
put  on  the  brigantine,  and  on  her  decks  affairs 
settled  down  into  the  ordinary  routine  of  a  sailing 
craft,  save  for  the  two  or  three  armed  blue-jackets 
who  were  posted  at  certain  points  of  the  deck. 

This  little  drama,  seen  rather  than  heard,  was, 
of  course,  a  side  issue,  and,  as  I  have  said,  divided 
our  time  and  served,  perhaps,  to  steady  our  nerves 
while  we  watched  the  hostile  steamers  come  slowly 
in  sight,  first  showing  their  funnels  and  then  their 
hulls  above  the  western  horizon. 

By  this  time  they  were  in  plain  sight  and  over- 
hauling us  quite  rapidly.  The  "  Argo,"  however, 
under  her  additional  spread  of  sail,  was  now  bowl- 
ing along  at  a  famous  rate  of  speed,  and  we 
sheered  off  across  her  wake  to  see  if,  perchance, 
the  enemy  would  follow  us  instead  of  her.  But 
they  were  not  to  be  diverted.  Seeing  us  head  out 
to  sea,  they  drew  together  for  a  moment's  consulta- 
tion, and  then  both  kept  their  course  after  the 
"  Arcro."  That,  indeed,  was  the  onlv  reasonable 
thing  for  them  to  do.  The  outcome  of  a  fight 
with  us  was  at  least  doubtful,  and  if  we  were 
afraid  to  defend  our  prize  they  might  recapture 
her  with  bvit  little  trouble.  Anyhow,  to  fight  us  in 
the    vicinity  of    the  prize  would  involve    no  more 


A    RUNNING    FIGHT.  I45 

risk  than  chasing  us  out  to  sea  and  taking  their 
chances  on  blue  water. 

The  "Otter's"  poHcy,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
to  put  off  fighting  as  long  as  she  could.  Taking 
the  two  steamers  separately,  she  could  probably 
have  made  short  work  with  either  of  them,  barring 
accident,  but  together  they  were  perhaps  more 
than  a  match  for  her,  because  they  could  choose 
their  own  positions,  and  one  of  them,  at  least, 
would  be  certain  to  have  a  manifest  advantage. 

We  could  see  by  this  time,  even  with  the  naked 
eye,  that  they  both  carried  heavy  guns  forward, 
nine-inch  dahlgrens,  we  thought  they  were,  and 
lighter  ones  in  broadside.  It  was  astonishing  in 
those  davs  to  see  what  tremendous  guns  were 
mounted  for  service  in  the  shallow  waters  of  the 
sound  on  flimsy  little  river  craft  that  a  regular 
artillery  officer  would  say  could  not  stand  the 
recoil  of  anything  heavier  than  a  boat  howitzer. 
Stand  it  they  did,  however,  and  throughout  the 
four  years  while  the  blockade  was  maintained  the 
great  Carolina  sounds  were  patrolled  by  little 
steamers  carrying  guns  weighing  almost  as  much 
as  they  weighed  themselves. 

Dropping  half  a  mile  astern  of  the  "  Argo," 
Captain  Ross  awaited  developments.  The  enemy's 
craft  separated  and  crept  up,  one  on  either  side  of 


146  JACK  Benson's  log. 

us ;  still,  however,  at  a  considerable  distance. 
The  situation  had  changed  a  little  by  this,  for  the 
"  Argo  "  was  now  logging  off  eight  knots  or  so 
with  a  southeasterly  breeze  broad  on  her  quarter. 
The  enemy  could  overhaul  us  but  slowly  at  this 
rate,  and,  as  the  sea  was  rising,  it  must  have  been 
a  question  with  them  whether  or  not  they  had 
better  venture  farther  from  shore. 

They  kept  on,  however,  and  we,  purposely  not 
going  so  fast,  diminished  the  gap  between  us  and 
our  pursuers.  I  was,  of  course,  wholly  inexpe- 
rienced in  judging  distances  at  sea,  but  I  inferred 
from  the  talk  that  went  on  around  me  that  we 
must  be  nearly  within  range.  The  crew  of  the 
after-rifle  were  at  their  station,  and  Captain  Ross 
was  watching  the  chase  closely.  At  length,  just 
as  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  could  not  possibly  keep 
still  any  longer,  but  must,  at  least,  yell  in  my  excite- 
ment, thereby  committing  a  serious  breach  of  dis- 
cipline, he  gave  the  order  :  — 

"You  may  try  the  offshore  one,  now,  Mr. 
Bosworth." 

The  captain  of  the  gun  patted  the  breach  of  the 
big  rifle  affectionately,  the  crew  swung  its  muzzle 
a  little  to  starboard,  and  Bosworth,  sighting  with 
one  eye,  seemed  to  watch  the  lift  of  the  sea  with 
the  other.     Firing  from  a  reeling  deck  at  a  distant 


A    RUNNING    FIGHT. 


147 


object  that  bobs  up  and  down  on  the  restless  sea 
is  uncertain  work  at  best ;  it  calls  for  a  rare  com- 
bination of  quickness  of  eye,  of  good  judgment, 
and  of  scientific  accuracy. 

The  critical  moment,  of  course,  is  the  instant  of 
firing,  and  the  gunner  must  anticipate  by  the  frac- 
tion of  a  second  the  probable  movement  of  his  gun 
as  the  ship  rises  or  falls  on  the  heaving  sea. 
Experience  and  aptitude  often  develop  a  wonder- 
ful skill  in  ships'  gunners  ;  they  seem  to  know  by 
instinct  the  curve  that  will  be  followed  by  the 
muzzle  of  the  gun  as  it  sweeps  up  or  down,  below 
and  above  the  horizon.  That  this  movement  is 
wholly  beyond  reach  of  accurate  calculation  must 
be  evident  to  any  one  who  has  watched  the  motions 
of  waves.  It  is  bad  enough  with  broadside  guns, 
but  with  a  pivot  rifle  on  the  stern  of  a  little  screw 
propeller  the  situation  was  much  worse. 

The  "Otter"  was  kicking  up  her  heels  in  a 
rising  sea,  and  old  Bosworth  must  have  been 
much  put  to  it.  I  watched  him  with  intense  in- 
terest, for  I  hoped  some  day  to  be  a  gunner 
myself.  He  waited  till  he  thought  there  was  a 
fair  chance  for  a  good  combination  of  roll,  lift, 
and  scend,  then  pulled  the  lanyard,  and  all  hands 
breathlessh'  watched  to  see  where  the  shot  would 
strike.      After  what  seemed  a  very  long  interval,  a 


148  JACK  Benson's  log. 

column  of  spray  shot  up  a  little  astern  of  the 
enemy. 

"Very  good  for  a  first  shot,  Bosworth,"  said 
Captain  Ross.  "  Load  and  fire  at  will  now,  and 
don't  forget  to  give  the  inshore  boat  a  taste  of  your 
metal  as  soon  as  you  fairly  get  the  range." 

The  enemy  reserved  his  fire  until  he  had  drawn 
a  little  nearer,  and  then  let  fly  a  nine-inch  solid 
shot,  which,  by  a  most  extraordinary  piece  of  good 
luck  for  him  and  bad  luck  for  us,  knocked  off  the 
corner  of  our  after  deckhouse,  and  smashed  one 
of  the  quarter-boats  into  kindling  wood.  Fortu- 
nately, nobody  was  very  seriously  hurt,  but  I  must 
admit  that  it  gave  me  a  bit  of  a  turn  to  hear  the 
roar  of  the  shot  overhead,  and  to  see  a  man  led 
below  with  a  splinter  slash  across  his  forehead 
that  filled  his  eyes  with  blood  and  left  a  ghastly 
train  of  red  spots  on  the  white  deck  behind  him. 

That  first  shot,  however,  was  the  beginning  and 
end  of  their  luck.  They  never  touched  us  again, 
and  although  the  exxhange  of  shots  was  kept  up 
till  dusk  in  a  leisurely  way,  it  was  at  long  range  ; 
no  farther  damage  resulted  to  either  side,  so  far  as 
we  knew. 

Captain  Ross,  no  doubt,  wanted  to  come  to 
closer  quarters  as  much  as  the  rest  of  us  did,  but  I 
can  see  now  that  he   was  quite  right  not  to  take 


A    RUNNING    FIGHT.  1 49 

any  chances  at  that  thne.  As  the  sun  sank 
behind  the  low-lying  bank  of  Cape  Hatteras  our 
pursuers  decided  to  give  it  up,  and,  with  a  parting 
shot  at  them  as  they  presented  their  broadsides  to 
us  in  turning,  we  quickened  our  pace,  overtook 
and  hailed  the  "Argo"  before  eight  bells,  and, 
finding  all  right  on  board,  sheered  off  to  complete 
our  reconnaissance  by  an  inspection  of  Roanoke 
Island,  w^iich,  next  to  Hatteras  Inlet,  w^as  regarded 
as  the  most  important  strategic  point  on  the 
Carolina  shore. 

Standing  off  and  on  till  daylight,  we  ran  into 
Oregon  Inlet,  and  speedily  found  that  the  island 
itself  was  quite  beyond  our  reach,  so  far,  at  least, 
as  concerned  a  satisfactory  inspection.  The 
inlet  was  so  shallow  that  our  small  boats  sent  in 
to  take  soundings  could  hardly  find  water  enough 
to  float  themselves  across  the  bar.  Moreover, 
quite  a  litde  fleet  of  steam  and  sailing  craft  lay  at 
anchor  within  the  bar,  so  that  it  would  have  been 
extremely  rash  for  us  to  venture  across. 

We  sent  armed  parties  ashore,  however,  at  a 
place  called  Nagg's  Head,  and  succeeded  in  cap- 
turing some  negro  fishermen,  by  whom  we  were 
assured  that  no  fortifications  were  as  yet  even 
begun  on  the  island  and  that  onl}^  a  company  or 
so  of  soldiers  was  quartered  there.     They  told  us. 


150  JACK  Benson's  log. 

however,  that  all  the  light-draught  steamers  to  be 
found  on  the  sound  had  been  armed  and  manned, 
and  were  ready  to  pounce  upon  any  incautious 
coasting  craft  that  came  within  reach. 

This  information  was  considered  sufficient,  so 
we  returned  to  Hampton  Roads,  well  content  with 
the  outcome  of  our  first  cruise,  and  very  proud  of 
the  performance  of  our  little  makeshift  man-o'-war 
"Otter." 

I  may  say  here,  before  dismissing  the  subject, 
that  the  "  Argo"  reached  New  York  safely,  was 
duly  condemned  by  an  admiralty  court  in  the 
presence  of  the  British  consul,  who  entered  no 
protest,  and  was  eventually  sold  for  $65,000,  of 
which  my  share,  by  some  mysterious  process  of 
arithmetic  whicli  T  never  could  fathom,  amounted 
to  $237.53,  which  was  proudly  placed  to  my  credit 
in  Stonyhaven  Savings  Bank  by  my  good  Uncle 
Abner  as  soon  as  received. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

CONTRABAND    OF    ^VAR. 

AFTER  her  return  to  Hampton  Roads  the 
"  Otter"  was  used  mainly  as  a  despatch  boat 
for  awhile,  and  neither  she  nor  any  of  her  crew, 
had  any  adventures  worth  speaking  of  until  August. 
The  time  was  passed  mainly  in  drilling  at  the  guns 
and  in  boat  parties,  which  latter  included  landing 
and  the  management  of  the  convenient  little  how- 
itzers that  were  part  of  the  outfit  of  every  United 
States  war  vessel. 

Commodore  Stringham  had  for  some  time  cher- 
ished a  wish  to  attack  and  reduce,  with  the  co- 
operation of  the  army,  the  fortifications  at  Hatteras 
Inlet,  which  we  had  been  sent  to  inspect.  The 
navy  had  from  the  first  appreciated  the  strategic 
importance  of  this  position,  but  had  been  unable  to 
convince  the  arm}-  authorities. 

During  these  early  weeks  of  declared  hostilities 
the  contrast  between  the  army  and  navy  was  rather 
painfully  perceptible.  From  the  nature  of  things, 
these  two  branches  of  the  service  were  very  differ- 


152  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

entin  their  official  organization.  The  army,  having 
its  stations  in  time  of  peace  in  comfortable  quarters 
and  on  shore,  was  naturally  under  the  control  of 
senior  officers,  who  were  apt  to  be  crotchety.  Of 
late  years  this  has  been  in  a  measure  corrected, 
but  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  the 
army  was  notably  weak  in  this  respect. 

A  venerable  officer,  who  had  in  his  time  done 
noteworthy  service  for  his  countr}^  was  summoned 
to  Washington  to  superintend  the  organization  of 
an  army,  the  like  of  which  had  never  entered  into 
his  wildest  dreams.  It  did  not  seem  possible  to 
him  and  to  the  most  trusted  of  his  advisers  to  enter 
upon  any  undertaking  of  consequence  without  due 
preparation  and  without  a  large  number  of  troops. 

The  navy,  on  the  contrary,  even  in  time  of 
peace,  is  largely  on  active  duty,  that  is  to  say,  at 
sea.  Its  effective  ships  are  always  under  the  com- 
mand of  officers  who  expect  to  do  their  share  of 
sea  service.  Its  cruisers  are  constantly  waging 
war  against  the  elements  in  all  seas.  Its  men  are 
frequently  exercised  at  the  guns,  and  are  almost 
invariably  kept  up  to  a  high  degree  of  efficiency. 
These  facts,  taken  in  connection  with  the  far  more 
complicated  features  of  the  political  situation  on 
land,  conspired  to  induce  a  rather  unusual  degree 
of  caution  on  the  part  of  the  army  departments. 


CONTRABAND    OF    WAR.  1 53 

While  the  ships  of  the  navy,  at  the  outbreak  of 
hostilities,  had  been  widely  scattered,  a  few  weeks 
had  sufficed  to  bring  home  a  considerable  number 
of  the  cruisers,  and,  fortunately,  Commodore 
Stringham  found  himself  in  harmony  with  the  army 
commander  at  Fortress  Monroe.  Some  correspond- 
ence relative  to  the  contemplated  attack  on 
Hatteras  Inlet  had  taken  place  with  the  War  Depart- 
ment, but  it  steadfastly  refused  to  assume  any 
responsibility,  except  to  furnish  such  troops  as  were 
required  for  landing  and  assisting  the  navy  in  the 
attack.  It  was  even  specified  in  the  orders  that 
the  troops  thus  detailed  should  return  to  Hampton 
Roads  as  soon  as  the  object  of  the  expedition  was 
attained. 

Perhaps  a  little  digression  is  justiliable  here  to 
say  a  word  about  Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  who 
was  in  immediate  command  of  the  forces.  I  say 
in  immediate  command,  for  his  nominal  superior 
w\as  one  of  the  superannuated  officers  of  the  old 
army  to  whom  I  have  just  referred.  However 
justly  General  Butler  may  have  laid  himself  open 
to  criticism  b}'  some  of  his  subsequent  military  and 
other  operations,  he  was  at  this  time  deserving  of 
high  praise  for  certain  bold  and  independent  actions 
that  had  won  brilliant  success  and  brought  his 
name  prominently  before  the  country. 


154  JACK    BENSON S    LOG. 

It  was  perhaps  excusable,  therefore,  for  a  sailor 
boy  to  take  a  short  shore  leave  while  the  Hatteras 
expedition  is  in  preparation,  and  see  what  was 
happening,  as  it  were,  under  the  very  guns  of  the 
fleet.  I  have  already  told  how  General  Butler 
suddenly  appeared  before  dawn  on  a  suspicious- 
looking  steamer  off  the  naval  academy  at  Annapo- 
lis. His  march  to  Washington,  in  company  with 
the  New  York  Seventh  Regiment,  has  also  been 
referred  to. 

After  his  arrival  at  the  Capitol,  Butler  was 
assigned  to  the  command  of  the  District  of  Annapo- 
lis, which  included  Baltimore.  This  city,  after  its 
hostile  reception  of  the  Massachusetts  troops,  had 
been  regarded  by  the  authorities  at  Washington  as 
an  almost  impregnable  stronghold  of  secession,  at 
least  as  regards  the  doubtful  State  of  Maryland. 
The  governor  of  the  State  was  inclined  to  be  faith- 
ful to  the  Union,  but  even  he  was  afraid  that  if  any 
stringent  measures  were  undertaken  in  Baltimore 
the  city  would  rise  in  revolt,  and  the  State  would 
be  precipitated  into  participation  in  the  Rebellion. 

Butler  fixed  his  headquarters  at  the  Relay  House, 
midway  between  Annapolis  and  Washington,  and 
very  soon  satisfied  himself  that  nothing  stood  in 
the  way  of  his  marching  in  any  direction  that 
pleased    him  best.      He  communicated  his  ideas  to 


CONTRABAND    OF    AVAR.  I55 

the  major-general  in  command,  and  was  told  loftily 
that  the  subject  was  under  consideration  and  that 
as  soon  as  a  force  of  twelve  thousand  men  could 
be  spared  from  the  defenses  of  the  Capitol  an 
attempt  would  probably  be  made  to  occupy  Balti- 
more. 

General  Butler  was  nothing  if  not  independent, 
so,  without  asking  leave  of  anybody,  he  started  with 
his  regiment  on  the  night  of  May  thirteenth,  and 
in  the  darkness  of  the  earh'  morning  hours  of  the 
next  day  marched  into  Baltimore  without  opposi- 
tion, seized  Fort  Federal  Hill,  commanding  the 
city  and  harbor,  fortified  himself  there  without 
any  opposition  whatever,  and  notified  the  municipal 
authorities  that  he  had  come  to  stay,  and  that 
United  States  troops  would  thereafter  be  guaranteed 
safe  passage  through  the  city. 

While  on  his  way  to  Baltimore  the  same  night 
he  detached  a  company  of  his  regiment  to  go  to 
Frederick,  Maryland,  and  arrest  a  prominent 
secessionist  who  had  been  making  more  trouble 
for  the  United  States  Government  than  any  one 
else  in  the  State,  furnishing  arms,  subscribing 
funds  to  equip  companies  of  Confederate  soldiers, 
and,  in  short,  doing  all  that  he  could  to  force  the 
State  into  alliance  with  the  Confederacy.  This 
gentleman  was  summarilv  carried  to  Baltimore  and 


156  JACK  Benson's  log. 

placed  under  guard  in  Butler's  headquarters,  only 
to  be  released  within  a  few  hours  by  order  of  the 
Secretary  of  State. 

The  idea  of  two  such  successful  expeditions 
carried  out  without  authorit}-  and  with  a  ridiculously 
inadequate  force  was  too  much  for  the  equanimity 
of  the  good  old  major-general  commanding.  As 
soon  as  he  heard  the  news  he  wrote  to  General 
Butler : — 

"  Sir,  your  hazardous  occupation  of  Baltimore 
was  undertaken  without  my  knowledge,  and,  of 
course,  without  my  approbation  ...  It  is  also 
reported  that  you  have  sent  a  detachment  to 
Frederick,  but  that  is  impossible." 

The  old  general  could  not  calmly  surrender  the 
idea  of  occupying  Baltimore  according  to  his  ideas 
of  military  etiquette  with  a  force  of,  at  least, 
twelve  thousand  men ;  that  a  little  Yankee  general 
should  have  accomplished  this  with  a  single  regi- 
ment, and  at  the  same  time  have  effected  what  was 
regarded  as  "impossible"  with  one,  and  no  more 
than  one  company  of  infantry,  could  not  be  recon- 
ciled with  any  due  respect  for  the  regulations  of 
the  army  of  the  United  States. 

The  president  and  cabinet,  however,  not  having 
as  yet  been  impressed  by  the  necessity  of  doing 
things  strictly  according  to  rule,  immediately  held 


CONTRABAND    OP^    WAR.  I57 

a  meeting  and  promoted  Butler  to  be  a  major- 
general  of  volunteers,  the  senior  of  that  grade  in 
the  service. 

As  he  continued  to  assert  that  he  could  hold  Bal- 
timore as  easily  as  he  "  could  hold  his  own  hat," 
and  that  "  a  3'ellow  dog  was  sufficient  escort  for 
him  in  any  part  of  Maryland,"  he  was  evidently 
unfit  to  remain  in  command.  Therefore,  he  was 
relieved  of  duty  in  Baltimore,  and  sent  to  Fortress 
Monroe,  where  it  was  thought  he  could  not,  for  a 
time,  at  least,  do  any  especial  harm.  As  a  pre- 
cautionary measure,  however,  the  other  old  officer 
to  whom  reference  has  been  made  was  placed  in 
command  over  him. 

But  the  Yankee  general  was  not  to  be  repressed. 
The  first  thing  that  he  discovered  was  that  the 
garrison  at  Fortress  Monroe  was  supplied  with 
water  from  a  distant  source  and  brought  within 
the  gates  by  the  primitive  method  of  a  mule  team. 
His  representation  of  this  state  of  things  threatened 
to  strain  his  relations  still  further  with  the  War 
Department,  which  had  always  been  taught  to 
regard  this  means  of  supply  as  adequate  for  the 
small  garrison  maintained  in  time  of  peace. 

His  next  escapade  was  perpetrated  on  the 
twenty-fourth  of  May,  and  was  the  invention  of  a 
phrase    that   has  since  almost  immortalized    him ; 


158  JACK  Benson's  log. 

namely,  the  term  "contraband"  as  applied  to 
escaped  negro  slaves  seeking  refuge  within  our 
lines.  Three  such  negroes,  belonging  to  a  certain 
Colonel  Mallory  of  the  Confederate  Army,  had 
been  employed  on  the  fortifications  at  Sewell's 
Point,  and,  learning  that  their  master  intended  to 
transport  his  entire  domestic  establishment  from 
Virginia  to  Florida  for  their  greater  securit}', 
these  three  enterprising  chattels  made  up  their 
minds  to  desert. 

Whether  they  begged,  borrowed,  or  stole  the 
boat  in  which  they  effected  their  escape  is  not 
known,  but  certain  it  is  that  on  the  morning  in 
question  they  were  descried  making  their  way 
across  the  channel  from  the  rebel  battery.  How 
they  managed  to  make  their  escape  without  being 
fired  upon  has  never  been  explained.  Butler 
promptly  put  them  to  work,  and  soon  afterwards 
was  notified  that  a  flag  of  truce  was  approaching 
his  picket  line  a  short  distance  inland. 

Sending  word  by  the  messenger  that  he  would 
immediately  repair  to  the  rendezvous,  he  rode 
thither,  and  met  Major  Carey,  of  Virginia,  with 
whom  he  had  a  previous  acquaintance,  having  met 
him  at  the  Charleston  convention,  just  before  the 
last  presidential  campaign.  The  situation  must 
have  been  rather  odd  for  both  these  men,  meeting 


CONTRABAND    OF    WAR.  I 59 

one  day  as  members  of  the  Democratic  National 
Convention,  and  the  next,  riding  up  to  meet  one 
another  on  a  hostile  picket  line ;  one  claiming  alle- 
giance to  a  far  Southern  State  now  seceded  from 
the  Union,  and  seeking  to  overthrow  the  govern- 
ment which  it  had  helped  to  establish  ;  the  other 
harboring  fugitive  slaves  in  the  name  of  the  United 
States. 

After  some  conversation  on  matters  relating  to 
the  safe  conduct  of  white  fugitives  who  wished  to 
seek  a  haven  of  safety  in  the  North,  the  major 
propounded  the  subject  of  the  three  slaves. 
"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  them?"  he 
asked. 

"I  intend  to  hold  them,"  said  Butler. 

"  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  requires 
you  to  return  them  to  their  owner,"  said  the  major. 

"Virginia  passed  an  ordinance  of  secession  the 
other  da3^  I  am  under  no  such  obligations  to  a 
foreign  country,"  said  Butler. 

"But,"  replied  the  major,  "you  say  that  we 
cannot  secede." 

"But  you  say  that  you  have  seceded.  I  shall 
hold  these  negroes  as  '  contraband  of  war,'  since 
they  were  engaged  in  the  construction  of  your 
battery.  The  simple  question  is,  shall  they  be 
used    for    or    against    the  United    States?     And, 


i6o  JACK  Benson's  log. 

unless  I  receive  contrary  orders  from  the  Secre- 
tary of  War,  I  shall  give  the  United  States  the 
benefit  of  the  doubt.* 

The  consternation  of  the  Cabinet  at  Washington 
may  be  imagined  when  this  new  and  original  in- 
terpretation of  constitutional  and  international  law 
was  brought  before  them.  High  legal  authorities 
all  over  the  land  declared  for  or  against  General 
Butler's  position,  according  to  personal  belief,  but 
the  comical  side  of  his  decision  captivated  the 
public  at  large.  The  comic  papers  published  car- 
toons, and  the  funny  columns  of  the  daily  papers 
exhausted  the  subject  in  epigrams.  The  witty 
and  impromptu  decision  of  this  Yankee  soldier 
lawyer  carried  the  nation  with  it,  and  neither  the 
Secretary  of  State  nor  the  Secretary  of  War  ven- 
tured to  countermand  Butler's  orders.  The 
phrase  was  so  apt  that  escaped  slaves  remained 
"  contrabands  "  until  they  became  "  freedmen." 


*This   account  is  slightly  condensed  from    General   Butler's  own    narrative   of 
the  interview. 


CHAPTER   X. 

OUR    FIRST    INNINGS. 

COMMODORE  STRINGHAM  and  General 
Butler  took  kindly  to  one  another  from  the 
first,  and  cooperated  cordially  whenever  possible. 
Butler  knew  pretty  well  how  to  manage  his  imme- 
diate superior,  who  was  very  well  satisfied  to  remain 
in  his  quarters,  as  long  as  some  one  else  would 
originate  ideas  and  take  the  responsibility  of  their 
execution. 

Practically  the  details  of  the  expedition,  so  far  as 
concerned  the  land  forces,  were  left  in  Butler's 
hands.  He  engaged  transports  and,  in  harmony 
with  the  plans  of  the  commodore,  about  one  thou- 
sand men  were  embarked  with  rations  for  ten  days, 
and  the  entire  fleet  sailed  on  the  twenty-sixth  of 
August.  Leaving  Hampton  Roads  early  in  the 
day,  they  rounded  Cape  Hatteras,  which,  fortu- 
nately, belied  its  stormy  character  in  their  behalf, 
and  came  to  anchor  without  accident  the  same 
afternoon  near  the  inlet. 

The  two  big  sister  frigates,  "Minnesota"  and 


i62  JACK  Benson's  log. 

"  Wabash,"  led  the  line,  and  quite  a  fleet  of  gun- 
boats and  transports,  including  the  little  "  Otter," 
trailed  out  astern  of  them.  One  or  two  old- 
fashioned  sailing  frigates  had  started  out  in  advance 
of  the  fleet,  and  were,  of  course,  distanced  by  the 
steamers. 

The  situation  at  Hatteras  Inlet  can  only  be 
understood  by  reference  to  the  map.  From  the 
inlet  to  Cape  Hatteras  is  a  stretch  of  twelve  miles 
of  desolate  beach,  on  which  it  was  intended  the 
troops  should  land,  well  beyond  range  of  the 
guns  of  the  forts.  The  process  of  landing  was 
begun  as  soon  as  the  fleet  arrived,  as  the  sea 
was  quite  calm,  and  the  fickleness  of  the  Hatteras 
weather  is  well  known  to  all  sea-going  folk. 

The  army  had  come  provided  with  a  clumsy 
species  of  surf  boat,  especially  constructed  for  the 
purpose  and  rather  ill  adapted  to  carrying  it  out. 
With  the  assistance  of  some  of  the  navy  boats, 
however,  some  three  or  four  hundred  men  were 
landed,  with  two  effective  boat  howitzers  and  the 
necessary  supply  of  ammunition.  Several  of  the 
boats  were  upset  in  the  surf,  and  as  evening  drew 
on  most  of  them  were  swamped  or  disabled.  At 
this  time,  too,  the  weather  became  threatening  and 
the  flagship  signaled  that  the  whole  squadron 
should  draw  off  shore. 


OUR    FIRST    INNINGS.  163 

Commodore  Stringham  would  certainly  never 
have  given  this  signal  from  his  flagship  had  he 
known  that  it  was  destined  to  involve  a  modest 
sailor  boy  of  the  "  Otter  "  in  his  first  case  of  absence 
without  leave. 

My  boat's  crew  had  been  one  of  those  detailed  to 
go  ashore  and  assist  in  landing  the  troops.  To 
accomplish  this  our  boat  had  been  beached 
during  the  quiet  hours  of  the  afternoon,  and,  as  I 
was  nothing  but  a  boy  and  was  not  expected  to 
take  part  in  the  heavy  work  of  pulling  and  hauling, 
I  wandered  up  to  the  ridge  of  the  beach  and 
fraternized  with  the  artillery  men,  who  were 
throwing  up  temporary  breastworks  of  sand  to  pro- 
tect against  any  attack  from  the  sound  or  from  the 
direction  of  the  forts.  Becoming  interested  in 
these  operations  and  in  the  maneuvers  of  the  small 
fleet  of  rebel  gunboats  now  plainly  within  sight,  I 
had  not  paid  much  attention  to  what  was  going  on 
upon  the  outer  beach. 

My  consternation  may  be  imagined,  therefore, 
when,  at  last,  casting  a  glance  in  that  direction,  I 
saw  the  "Otter's"  boat  rising  over  the  outer 
breakers,  some  hundred  3'ards  from  shore.  My 
absence  had  evidently  been  overlooked,  and  here 
I  was  destined  to  pass  the  night  on  shore,  and, 
what    was    worse,   supperless,  because  no  rations 


164  JACK  Benson's  log. 

had  been  landed  with  the  troops.  Most  of  them, 
however,  had  some  scraps  left  over  in  their  haver- 
sacks, and  were  disposed  to  be  generous  to  a  sailor 
boy,  so  that  we  were  not  entirely  without  means  of 
subsistence. 

The  captain  of  the  company,  with  whose  men  I 
had  made  friends,  told  me  that,  under  the  circum- 
stances, I  had  better  report  to  Colonel  Webber,  of 
the  Twentieth  New  York  Volunteers,  who  had 
landed,  and  was  in  command  of  the  detachment. 
He  was  standing  by  a  fire  of  driftwood,  trying  to 
dry  himself  after  a  ducking  incurred  during  the 
process  of  landing,  and  laughed  when  he  saw  my 
woe-begone  countenance.  He  told  me  not  to  mind, 
and  to  make  myself  as  comfortable  as  I  could  with 
Captain  Black's  company. 

There  was  plenty  of  driftwood  along  the  beach, 
and  no  reason  existed  why  we  should  not  light  fires 
along  the  seaward  slope.  The  position  was  easily 
defended  against  surprise,  for  the  beach  was  so 
narrow  that  pickets  could  easily  patrol  it  above 
and  below  the  bivouac,  and  we  knew  that  the 
water  of  the  sound  was  too  shallow  for  the  rebel 
fleet  to  approach  within  effective  range.  Most  of 
us  were  pretty  thoroughly  wet,  and  were  glad 
enough  to  try  alternately  to  dry  first  one  side  and 
then  the  other.     I  turned  in  with  Captain  Black's 


OUR    FIRST    INNINGS.  165 

company,  as  it  so  happened,  pretty  near  the  divid- 
ing ridge,  where  the  seaward  slope  changed  to  that 
of  the  sound. 

The  night  would  have  passed  without  any  excite- 
ment, whatever,  but  for  the  negro  cook  of  the 
company.  He,  after  the  manner  of  his  race,  had 
started  on  an  exploring  expedition  sometime  during 
the  small  hours.  Passing  over  the  beach  crest,  he 
had  gone  down  to  the  water's  edge  of  the  inner 
beach,  and,  finding  the  sand  still  warm  with  the 
rays  of  the  August  sun,  had  lain  down  for  an 
hour  of  peaceful    contemplation. 

He  declared  solemn!}-  that  he  did  not  go  to  sleep, 
but  that  he  was,  in  fact,  "  laying  low,"  with  his 
eyes  near  the  level  of  the  water,  so  that  he  could 
the  better  observe  certain  suspicious  movements 
which  he  thought  he  detected  on  the  part  of  the 
hostile  fleet. 

At  any  rate,  he  was  suddenly  startled  by  per- 
ceiving what  he  took  to  be  two  rebel  gunboats  in 
the  nature  of  ironclads  emerging  from  the  water 
and  approaching  his  resting-place.  Naturally  he 
sprang  up,  and,  with  a  shriek  of  terror,  fled  toward 
the  bivouac.  As  ill  luck  would  have  it,  he  cleared 
the  ridge  just  where  I  and  my  companions  were 
lying,  and,  stumbling  over  us,  fell  headlong  upon 
the  men  next  beyond  us.     Of  course,  there  was  an 


i66  JACK  Benson's  log. 

instant  alarm  ;  the  gunners  jumped  to  their  stations, 
men  seized  their  rifles,  and  it  would  have  taken 
little  more  to  set  everybody  to  shooting  at  an3'thing 
that  moved. 

The  captain's  voice,  however,  restrained  the 
panic,  which  he  soon  learned  had  been  caused  by 
the  black  cook.  This  individual,  upon  being 
questioned,  related  his  terrible  experience  upon  the 
beach,  and  assured  the  captain  that  two  rebel  iron- 
clads were  coming  ashore  to  annihilate  the  entire 
command.  The  captain,  of  course,  thought  that 
the  fellow  had  been  frightened  b}'  some  chance 
prowler,  but  decided  that  he  would  look  over  the 
ridtre  and  see  for  himself.  Half  a  dozen  men 
accompanied  him,  including  myself,  of  course, 
and  as  we  looked  down  upon  the  beach  level  there 
certainly  was  something  extraordinar}^  So'ing  on 
near  the  water's  edge.  We  could  hear  mufiled 
sounds  as  of  blows  and  scrapings,  but  what  it  all 
meant  no  one  had  the  slightest  idea. 

Ordering  a  cautious  advance,  the  captain  led  the 
way  down  the  slope,  revolver  in  hand,  and  I  must 
confess  that  his  followers  were  not  over  anxious  to 
keep  pace  with  him,  for  there  was  something  very 
uncanny  about  the  appearance  of  this  shapeless 
but  moving  mass.  At  length  the  captain  halted, 
put  vip  his  hand  to  shade  his  eyes  from  the  light  of 


OUR    FIRST    INNINGS.  167 

the  stars,  and  after  a  moment's  inspection  broke 
into  a  quiet  laugh. 

"  Come  on,  boys,"'  he  said;  "  we'll  have  some- 
thing for  breakfast  after  all.  It's  a  pair  of  sea- 
turtles  come  ashore  to  fight.  They  do  that  at  this 
season.  I've  been  down  this  coast  before,  and 
have  caught  them  many  a  time.  Where  is  that 
black  rascal  of  a  cook  ?  " 

Jim  had  prudently  remained  behind,  but  was 
quickly  hauled  from  his  hiding-place,  and  made  to 
join  in  the  skirmish  line  that  surrounded  the  strug- 
gling turtles  and  turned  them  over  on  their  backs. 
He  was  still  under  the  spell  of  terror,  and  in  his 
eyes  they  seemed  gigantic  monsters  ready  to  work 
his  destruction.  He  was  compelled,  however,  to 
assist  in  the  capture,  and  was  straightway  set  to 
work  cutting  up  the  prisoners,  and  preparing  them 
for  the  morning  meal.  By  the  time  this  was  done 
there  were  faint  indications  of  daylight  in  the 
east,  and,  although  we  had  no  coffee  to  help  out 
our  repast,  turtle  soup  and  turtle  steak  for  break- 
fast were  not  so  bad  when  we  could  get  nothing 
else. 

The  sea  had  gone  down  by  morning,  so  that 
more  of  the  soldiers  could  be  landed  on  the  beach 
without  difficulty,  and  I  managed  to  get  myself 
taken  off   at  an  early  hour  by  one  of  the  Monti- 


i68  JACK  Benson's  log. 

cello's  boats,  whose  coxswain  was  kind  enough 
to  put  me  on  board  my  own  ship.  I  found  that  my 
absence  had  not  been  discovered  until  after  dark, 
when  it  was  impracticable  to  send  ashore  for 
me,  supposing  I  was  safe  with  the  troops  already 
there. 

Practically,  of  course,  this  was  absence  without 
leave,  and  I  was  liable,  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, to  some  kind  of  punishment.  My  character 
was  fairly  good,  however,  and  the  division  officer 
only  gave  me  a  moderate  blowing-up  for  heedless- 
ness in  letting  the  boat  get  away.  Indeed,  I  think 
the  coxswain  of  the  boat  got  a  worse  wigging 
than  I  did,  because  he  had  failed  to  notice  my 
absence. 

There  was  no  special  need  of  haste  in  beginning 
offensive  operations,  so  the  commodore  took  his 
own  time  about  it.  The  forts  on  the  end  of  the 
sand  spit  were  quite  isolated  from  the  mainland  ;  no 
reenforcements  could  reach  them  from  the  sound 
without  coming  inside  the  range  of  our  rifled  guns, 
and  any  reenforcements  landed  on  the  beach  could 
easily  be  dispersed,  if  not  by  the  troops,  then  by 
the  fire  of  the  fleet.  The  commodore,  therefore, 
allowed  all  his  command  to  have  a  comfortable 
breakfast  before  ordering  his  ships  to  take  up  their 
stations  and  open  fire. 


GETTING   INTO   ACTION   OFF   HATTERAS. 


OUR    FIRST    INNINGS.  169 

There  were  two  forts  at  the  inlet,  namely,  Fort 
Hatteras  and  Fort  Clark  ;  the  first  named,  and  more 
important  of  the  works,  being  close  to  the  inlet 
proper,  while  the  other  was  farther  out  toward  the 
ocean,  situated  on  a  low  point,  and  separated  from 
the  larger  earthworks  by  a  shallow  lagoon.  The 
fleet  anchored  so  that  the  two  forts  were  nearly  in 
a  line  with  one  another,  and  shot  passing  over  one 
might  possibly  fall  upon  the  other. 

The  superiority  of  the  artillery  of  the  fleet  was 
quickly  obvious.  Fort  Clark  was  soon  silenced  ; 
the  men  deserting  their  guns  and  wading  across  the 
shallow  lagoon  that  separated  them  from  the  shelter 
of  the  larger  fort.  Upon  this  the  troops  advanced 
along  the  beach,  and  by  two  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon the  national  ensign  was  floating  over  the 
ramparts. 

It  was  supposed  at  this  time  that  Fort  Hatteras, 
too,  had  been  abandoned,  as  its  fire  had  altogether 
ceased  and  no  flag  was  displayed  upon  its  flag- 
staff. Accordingly,  the  "  Monticello  "  was  directed 
to  attempt  the  passage  of  the  inlet,  but  no  sooner 
was  she  well  within  the  breakers  than  the  cannon- 
ade was  resumed,  and  for  a  few  minutes  she  was 
in  imminent  danger  of  being  sunk.  Upon  this  the 
flagship,  with  the  "  Susquehanna"  and  "  Pawnee," 
which  were   opposite   the   fort,  resumed   their   fire 


lyo  JACK  Benson's  log. 

which  continued  until  sunset,  when  the  fleet  drew 
off  for  the  night. 

Next  morning  the  bombardment  was  resumed, 
vessels  anchoring  directly  off  the  inlet  and  sending 
heavy  projectiles  from  their  long  pivot  guns  into 
the  forts  that  still  held  out.  It  was  a  one-sided 
affair, — this  capture  of  the  forts  at  Hatteras, — 
mere  target  practise  so  far  as  any  danger  to  the  fleet 
was  concerned. 

Superior  artillery  enabled  it  to  remain  safely 
beyond  the  range  of  rebel  guns,  and  it  was  soon 
apparent  that  the  fort  was  too  hot  a  place  for 
further  defense.  Shortly  before  noon  a  large  shell 
penetrated  one  of  the  ventilators  of  the  magazine, 
and  so  narrowly  missed  blowing  the  whole  estab- 
lishment to  pieces  that  a  white  flag  was  raised 
preliminary  to  surrender. 

The  army  tug,  "Fanny,"  with  General  Butler 
on  board,  had  been  close  at  hand,  watching  pro- 
ceedings, and  with  characteristic  promptness  the 
general  ordered  her  at  once  within  the  inlet. 
Beyond  the  bulkhead  were  two  or  three  Confeder- 
ate vessels,  including  one  laden  with  troops,  and 
the  general  gave  them  a  rifle  shot  from  his  six-inch 
pivot  gun  that  went  well  over  toward  the  rebel 
gunboats,  which  had  not  yet  given  any  indication 
of  surrender,  and  were  dangerously  near  at  hand. 


OUR    FIRST    INNINGS.  I71 

They  speedily  took  the  hint  and  made  for  safer 
quarters. 

Upon  this  General  Butler  sent  a  boat  with  an 
officer,  asking  the  meaning  of  the  white  flag,  and 
presently  received  a  conditional  offer  of  surrender, 
which  he  declined,  sending  word  back  that  the 
surrender  must  be  unconditional.  After  some 
slight  delay,  word  was  returned  accepting  these 
terms,  and  shortly  afterward  the  commanding  officer 
of  the  fort,  with  some  of  his  staff,  came  on  board 
the  "Fanny." 

This  gentleman  was  Captain  Samuel  Barron, 
C.  S.  N.,  late  of  the  United  States  Navy,  and  some 
of  his  officers  had  only  a  few  weeks  before  held 
the  commission  of  the  United  States.  It  is  not 
altogether  easy  to  conceive  the  frame  of  mind  with 
which  these  proud  secessionists  went  on  board  the 
commodore's  flagship,  where  many  of  the  officers 
had  formerly  been  their  shipmates  and  whom  they 
had  no  doubt  treated  with  the  supercilious  arrogance 
that  was  too  common  among  Southerners  about  to 
resign  their  allegiance.  More  than  one  of  them 
must  have  asked  himself  while  awaiting  the  con- 
clusion of  the  negotiations  what  the  Southern 
secession  leaders  could  have  meant  in  persuading 
their  followers  to  believe  that  the  Yankees  would 
never  fight. 


172  JACK  Benson's  log. 

But  while  these  negotiations  were  going  on  the 
situation  had  become  somewhat  critical  under  the 
guns  of  the  fort.  The  "  Monticello  "  in  attempting 
to  pass  over  the  bar,  had  grounded  within  easy  range, 
and  the  "Adelaide,"  an  army  transport,  crowded  with 
troops,  had  followed  her  example.  It  is  not  at  all 
beyond  the  range  of  possibility  that  if  this  had 
occurred  before  Captain  Barron  left  the  fort  he 
would  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  better  terms  for 
surrender. 

The  game  was  lost,  however ;  the  articles  of 
capitulation  were  signed  ;  more  than  seven  hundred 
men  surrendered  as  prisoners  of  war,  with  a  thou- 
sand stand  of  arms,  thirty  cannon,  five  stand  of 
colors,  a  brig  loaded  with  cotton,  and  sundry  stores 
of  provisions,  including  one  hundred  and  fifty  bags 
of  coffee.  But  far  exceeding  all  these  was  the 
strategic  value  of  the  position  that  fell  into  our 
hands.  In  effect,  the  whole  wide  extent  of  the 
Carolina  Sound  was  under  the  control  of  our  guns, 
which  would  otherwise  have  afforded  a  safe  refuge 
for  privateers,  cruisers,  and  blockade  runners. 

The  Hatteras  expedition  was  in  reality  the  first 
noteworthy  success  of  the  Union  arms  on  land  or 
sea,  and,  coming  soon  after  the  disastrous  defeat  of 
the  army  at  Bull  Run,  went  far  to  encourage  the 
Government  in  its  measures  to  organize  an  ener- 


OUR    FIRST    INNINGS.  I73 

getic  campaign.  Owing  to  the  superiority  of  our 
armament,  the  affair  assumed,  after  all,  a  certain 
holiday  aspect,  for  not  a  single  man  was  hurt  on 
the  national  side.  Several  were  killed  and  wounded 
in  the  fort,  but  their  exact  number  was  never 
known. 

Here  again  General  Butler's  readiness  to  disobey 
orders  stood  him  and  the  country  in  good  stead. 
On  looking  over  the  situation,  he  saw  at  a  glance 
the  importance  of  maintaining  a  permanent  garrison 
at  this  point,  and  on  consultation  with  Commodore 
Stringham  he  decided  to  leave  enough  men  to  hold 
the  position  against  any  possible  rebel  attack.  His 
orders  were  to  return  at  once  to  Fortress  Monroe 
with  his  entire  detachment,  but  he  knew  perfectly 
well  that  if  he  allowed  the  Department  to  receive 
his  report  through  the  regular  channels  and  learn 
how  its  directions  had  been  ignored  he  would  be 
reprimanded,  if  not  court-marshalled,  for  disobe- 
dience of  orders. 

Accordingly,  while  Commodore  Stringham  took 
the  prisoners  on  board  his  flagship  and  sailed  for 
New  York,  General  Butler  embarked  in  his  de- 
spatch boat,  the  "  Fanny,"  and  made  the  best  pos- 
sible time  direct  to  Washington.  Arriving  there 
in  the  middle  of  the  night,  he  aroused  one  of  the 
cabinet  officers,  and  together  they  went  to  the  White 


174  ]^c^  Benson's  log. 

House  and  imparted  their  good  news  to  the  presi- 
dent. Lincoln  was  overjoyed  at  this,  the  first  sub- 
stantial success  of  the  national  arms,  and  before 
the  War  Department  had  fairly  waked  up  the  next 
morning  a  cabinet  meeting  had  been  called,  and  it 
was  voted  that  the  army  should  continue  to  hold 
Hatteras  Inlet,  with  such  aid  from  the  navy  as  was 
deemed  necessary. 


CHAPTER  XL 

CONTRABANDS    AS    COAST    PILOTS. 

NO  sooner  had  the  Rebels  lost  control  of  Pam- 
lico Sound  and  its  tributaries  than  the}' 
made  energetic  efforts  to  keep  control  of  the  ad- 
jacent waters  to  the  northward.  Roanoke  Island 
afforded  the  key  to  this  position,  and  now  that 
Pamlico  Sound  was  practically  under  the  control 
of  the  nav}^  its  reduction  was  probably  only  a 
question  of  time. 

The  blockade,  as  yet,  was  not  effectual.  A 
few  vessels  were  stationed  off  Charleston,  Savan- 
nah, and  a  few  of  the  more  important  ports  of 
entry,  but  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  whole 
Southern  coast  is  a  series  of  river  mouths,  harbors, 
and  estuaries,  all  more  or  less  navigable  to  vessels 
of  considerable  size,  the  wonder  is  that  any  sort  of 
a  blockade  was  maintained.  The  fact  remains, 
however,  that,  although  the  rebels  did  all  in  their 
power  to  convince  their  British  friends  of  its  in- 
efficiency, they  never  succeeded. 

A  British  gunboat,  the  "  Gladiator,"  cruised  at 
175 


176  JACK  Benson's  log. 

least  twice  up  and  clown  the  Atlantic  coast  to  as- 
certain the  true  state  of  affairs.  Captain  Hinck- 
ley made  his  report,  presumably  adverse  to  the 
national  cause,  but  in  the  meantime  several  hun- 
dred foreign  vessels,  including  numerous  British 
blockade  runners,  had  been  captured  by  our 
vessels,  taken  into  the  nearest  ports,  condemned 
by  admiralty  courts  and,  except  in  a  very  few 
cases,  no  protests  were  made.  In  short,  after  it 
was  once  fairly  in  working  order,  the  maritime 
nations  of  the  world  reluctantly  confessed  that  the 
blockade  was  effectual  enough  to  be  recognized, 
or,  at  least,  too  effectual  to  be  ignored. 

The  station  in  Hampton  Roads  was  pleasant 
enough  as  navy  life  goes,  and  not  without  its 
temporary  excitement.  The  intelligent  contraband 
brought  rumors  from  every  direction  of  marching 
troops  and  of  gunboats  and  ironclads  that  were 
being  rapidly  prepared  at  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard. 
The  "  Merrimac  "  had  been  raised  and  was  covered 
with  iron  plates,  and  at  Richmond  other  swift 
rams  were  in  course  of  preparation.  These 
rumors  and  announcements  were  somewhat  pre- 
mature, although,  as  we  afterwards  learned,  they 
were  not  altogether  false. 

According  to  the  regulations  of  Uncle  Sam's 
navy,  the  boys  on  board  ship  are  required  to  de- 


CONTRABANDS    AS    COAST    PILOTS.  1 77 

vote  certain  hours  to  study.  Sailor  boys  are  not 
any  more  fond  of  study  than  their  shore-going 
brethren  ;  still,  the  rule  was  reasonably  well  en- 
forced ;  but  it  was  presently  discovered  by  the 
teachers  who  were  detailed  to  take  charge  of  us 
that  I  had  advanced  far  be3^ond  all  that  could 
possibly  be  required  of  a  powder  monkey. 

Therefore,  it  came  to  pass  when  it  was  found 
that  I  could  write  a  fairly  good  schoolboy  hand, 
and  was  reasonably  trustworthy  at  copying,  that  I 
was  promoted  to  a  kind  of  clerkship  which,  while 
it  did  not  interfere  with  other  duties  to  any  serious 
extent,  gave  me  privileges  that  were  not  unac- 
ceptable. It  brought  me  into  relations  with  the 
best  of  the  wardroom  officers  and  made  it  possible 
for  me  to  go  on  various  expeditions  from  which  I 
would  otherwise  have  been  excluded. 

Occasionally  the  "Otter"  was  sent  on  some 
minor  expedition,  but  our  ordinary  life  on  board 
would  have  been  unspeakably  dull  but  for  the  fact 
that  everybody  had  his  regular  work.  This  is  the 
grand  secret  of  all  discipline.  If  idleness  were 
permitted  on  board  a  man-of-war,  with  its  hun- 
dreds of  men  in  close  quarters,  there  would  be 
mutiny  within  a  week.  Upon  the  whole,  there- 
fore, it  was  acceptable  when  it  began  to  be  whis- 
pered   about    that    the   "Otter"   was    again  under 


178  JACK  Benson's  log. 

orders.  How  such  news  gains  currency  nobody 
knows.  It  seems  to  be  in  the  air,  and  when  the 
order  comes  to  take  on  a  full  supply  of  coal  and 
stores  for  a  voyage  nobody  is  taken  very  much 
by  surprise. 

We  were  ready  in  a  day  or  two,  and  an  extra 
force  of  volunteers  was  called  for  from  the  New 
England  regiments.  A  hundred  men  responded, 
mainly  from  Marblehead,  Gloucester,  Newbury- 
port,  and  the  other  sea-going  headquarters  of  that 
rugged  coast.  It  was  tolerably  evident,  therefore, 
that  some  sort  of  hazardous  work  was  expected  of 
lis.  The  volunteer  sailor  men  came  aboard  with 
their  blankets,  knapsacks,  and  rifles,  and  were 
stowed  away  wherever  there  was  room  for  them 
to  lie  on  deck.  Nearly  all  were  sailor  men,  and 
many  were  the  jokes  perpetrated  about  going  to 
sea  with  rifles  and  knapsacks.  Naturally,  they 
fraternized  fairly  well  with  our  own  crew,  who 
forthwith  dubbed  them  "the  horse  marines,"  a 
nickname  b}'  which  they  were  known  to  the  end 
of  the  expedition,  and  which  they  accepted  with 
very  good  grace. 

We  got  under  way  on  October  2,  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  rounded  to  off  a  low-lying  cape  partly 
covered  with  a  growth  of  cypress  or  pine,  and 
marked  by  an  abandoned  lighthouse,  whose  light 


CONTRABANDS    AS    COAST    PILOTS.  179 

had  been  extinguished  by  the  Confederacy.  This 
was  the  mouth  of  Winyah  Bay,  at  the  head  of  which 
was  situated  Georgetown,  S.  C,  about  twelve  miles 
from  the  sea. 

Coming  to  anchor  outside  the  breakers,  boats 
were  sent  to  sound  out  the  channel  and  see  if  any 
sunken  obstruction  existed.  Ever^'thing  was  clear, 
and  the  little  "Otter"  was  soon  anchored  in  five 
fathoms  of  water  opposite  the  lighthouse  and  be- 
hind the  shelter  of  the  sand  spit  on  which  it  stood. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  bay  was  a  straggling 
hamlet,  where  we  could  see  quite  an  unheard-of 
commotion  among  the  inhabitants  at  our  unwelcome 
appearance. 

The  lighthouse  being  close  at  hand,  it  was  nec- 
essary first  to  make  sure  that  there  were  no  fortifi- 
cations or  troops  in  its  vicinity.  An  officer  was 
accordingly  sent  to  investigate,  and  found  the  light- 
keeper  still  in  possession  of  his  quarters  and  rather 
disposed  than  otherwise  to  be  civil  in  his  replies. 
There  was  absolutely  no  indication  of  military 
occupation  about  the  point  nor  in  the  woods  which 
made  out  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  gov- 
ernment reservation ;  the  keeper  assured  us,  in 
fact,  that  nothing  had  been  done  toward  fortifying 
the  point. 

Toward  the  latter  part  of  the  afternoon  a  small 


i8o  JACK  Benson's  log. 

steamer  came  down  from  Georgetown  and  took  a 
look  at  us,  but,  not  seeing  anything  to  invite  a 
closer  acquaintance,  returned  whence  she  came. 
It  was,  therefore,  certain  that  news  of  our  arrival 
had  reached  the  mainland,  and  the  nearest  military 
authorities  were  no  doubt  advised  of   our  presence. 

It  w^as  a  rather  dark,  starlight  night,  and  after 
the  glow  had  quite  faded  from  the  west  two  armed 
boats  were  despatched  under  charge  of  Lieutenant 
Casey,  who  had  long  since  returned  with  his  prize 
crew,  on  a  pilot-hunting  expedition.  Guessing 
that  the  hamlet,  which  has  already  been  referred 
to,  was  mainly  composed  of  fishermen's  huts  and 
possibly  of  pilot's  houses,  Captain  Ross  had 
directed  us  to  go  ashore  and  see  what  we  could 
effect.  Some  caution  was  necessary,  for  the  malig- 
nity and  desperate  hatred  of  Yankees  that  was 
cherished  by  all  Southern  communities  at  that  time 
is  difficult  of  belief  now  that  it  is  all  over. 

We  pulled  in  the  direction  of  the  hamlet  with 
perfect  silence,  the  oars  being  carefully  muffled,  and 
presently  drew  near  enough  to  perceive  a  few  dim 
lights  in  the  windows  and  to  hear  occasional  A'oices 
along  the  shore.  Under  the  supervision  of  Captain 
Ross,  each  of  the  boats  had  been  provided  with 
certain  fireworks  designed  to  assist  our  enterprise. 
The  lower  part  of  some  casks  had  been  sawn  off 


CONTRABANDS    AS    COAST    PILOTS.  l8l 

and  lilled  with  a  mixture  of  oakum  soaked  with 
melted  pitch  and  turpentine  ;  there  were  four  of 
these  altogether,  and  one  of  them  was  provided,  in 
addition  to  the  slow  match  common  to  all,  with  a 
rocket  and  a  Roman  candle. 

The  boats  paused  a  short  distance  off  shore,  and 
the  slow  match  that  was  attached  to  the  rocket  was 
lighted,  the  tub  put  softly  overboard  into  the  water, 
an  anchor  line  dropped  after  it,  and  then  we  shoved 
off,  leaving  it  to  its  fate.  The  boats  pulled  away 
some  two  hundred  yards  and  then  lay  side  by  side, 
end  on  toward  the  town,  with  black  tarpaulins 
hung  over  the  bows  so  as  to  conceal  the  white 
paint  from  observers  on  shore.  The  match  was 
timed  "long"  for  ten  minutes,  and  at  the  end  of 
about  twelve  the  rocket  went  whizzing  aloft ;  the 
Roman  candle  followed,  sending  its  brilliant  balls 
high  up  into  the  air,  and  then,  as  it  in  turn  died 
down,  the  quick  match  connecting  with  the  flare 
caught  fire,  and  there  was  straightway  a  bright 
blaze  rising  apparently  from  the  surface  of  the  sea, 
and  lighting  the  beach  for  an  eighth  of  a  mile  in 
both  directions. 

Hardly  had  the  boom  of  the  rocket  bursting  on 
high  died  away  when  cries  of  all  sorts  arose  in  the 
little  settlement,  —  cries  of  wonder  and  admiration 
and    some     few    of    fear.      Doors    opened,     lights 


i82  JACK  Benson's  log. 

shone  out,  and  the  whole  population  stood  spell- 
bound as  the  brilliant  balls  from  the  Roman 
candle  soared  successively  aloft.  Then  followed 
the  steady  blaze  of  the  oakum  flare,  and  Casey 
looked  the  ground  over  with  his  glasses.  Not  a 
sign  of  military  organization  was  visible  anywhere, 
and  there  were  not  more  than  a  half  a  dozen  white 
men  in  sight,  all  told. 

One  of  the  better-looking  houses  had  a  flagstaff 
in  front  of  it,  which  «iight  possibly  be  intended 
for  a  signal  station.  It  was  not  within  reason  that 
there  could  be  any  formidable  armed  force  in  the 
place,  for,  whether  such  a  force  had  been  com- 
posed of  raw  levies  or  of  seasoned  veterans,  it 
would  certainly  have  sprung  to  its  arms,  and  there 
was  no  indication  of  any  such  movement.  While 
the  people  on  shore  were  rubbing  their  eyes  and 
trying  to  peer  into  the  surrounding  darkness, 
Casey  stood  up  and  hailed  :  — 

"  Hallo,  on  shore  there,  we  won't  fire  unless 
you  do,  so  don't  be  frightened.  But  if  you  do  fire 
on  us  we'll  burn  down  the  whole  place,  so  be 
careful.  Now,  I  am  coming  ashore.  Take  oars  ! 
Give  way  all !  " 

We  were  but  a  short  distance  from  the  beach,  so 
that  hardly  more  than  two  minutes  had  elapsed 
before  the  bows  grated  on  the  sand,  and  the  crew 


CONTRABANDS    AS    COAST    PILOTS.  183 

of  our  boat  sprang  smartly  ashore  in  front  of  the 
flagstaff.  By  Casey's  orders,  the  other  crew  re- 
mained afloat  ready  to  shove  off  at  a  moment's 
notice.  Our  crew  deployed  smartly  with  read^' 
cocked  carbines  "  at  the  carry."  Another  of  the 
prepared  flares  was  lighted  on  the  beach  as  Case}- 
walked  forward. 

The  landing  had  been  effected  immediately  in 
front  of  the  best  quarter  of  the  settlement,  the 
quarter,  that  is,  where  the  white  people  were 
gathered,  and  to  them  Casey  addressed  himself. 

"  I  suppose  you  are  all  South  Carolinians  and 
Secessionists,"  he  said.  "We  are  from  the  Fed- 
eral gunboat  out  there  in  the  stream,  and  we're 
going  to  stay  here  as  long  as  it  suits  us.  Under- 
stand, once  for  all,  that  we  don't  intend  to  do  you 
any  harm  unless  we're  attacked,  but  if  you  make 
any  trouble,  or  let  anybody  fire  on  us  from  the 
shore,  we'll  burn  the  entire  outfit. 

The  whole  population,  white  and  colored,  had 
turned  out,  as  curiosity  overcame  fear,  and  quite  a 
crowd  had  pressed  forward  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
fire.  Casey  waved  them  back,  "  Don't  come 
any  nearer,"  he  said,  "  till  I  call  you." 

Three  rather  ruffianly  white  men  stood  about 
the  door  of  the  principal  house,  and  a  few  others 
near  them,  while  a  few  slatternly  looking  women 


184  JACK  Benson's  log. 

peered  from  the  doors  of  the  neighboring  houses. 
Casey  looked  round  over  the  crowd  of  sable 
visages  in  the  firelight,  and,  selecting  a  venerable 
old  darky,  probably  attracted  to  him  by  the  white- 
ness of  his  wool,  he  sung  out:  "Here,  Uncle! 
You  come  here."  The  old  man  shambled  for- 
ward, a  tall,  stooping  figure,  with  a  dilapidated 
straw  hat  in  his  hand,  glancing  deprecatingly 
at  the  burly  white  man  as  if  asking  permission  to 
come  forward. 

"  What's  your  name,  uncle  ?  " 

"  Bob,  sah." 

"Bob  what?" 

"Bob  Randall,  sah." 

"How  old  are  you?" 

"  Don't  know,  marsa ;  mos'  one  hundred  years, 
I  'spec'." 

"  Who  do  you  belong  to?" 

"  Marsa  Jim  Randall,  sah." 

' '  Where  is  he  ?  " 

"  He  ober  to  the  big  house,  ober  on  Santee." 

"  What  are  you  here  for.  Bob?" 

At  this  the  more  important-looking  of  the  white 
men  interposed.  "  Here,  mister,  he's  my  nigger; 
ask  your  questions  of  me,  if  you  want  to."  The 
man  came  forward  as  he  spoke. 

"  I'll  talk  to  you  presently,"  said  Casey  sharply. 


CONTRABANDS    AS    COAST    PILOTS.  185 

''  Meanwhile,  step  back  and  keep  still."  Then  in 
a  lower  voice  :  "  Now,  Bob,  do  you  like  to  stay 
here?" 

"  Not  over  muchly,  marsa,"  glancing  appre- 
hensively over  his  shoulder. 

"Like  to  go  back  to  the  old  house  sometimes, 
don't  you  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  marsa." 

"Folks  there?" 

"Yes,  sah." 

"Well,  now,  Bob,  if  3'ou'll  come  with  me  I'll 
give  you  a  chance  to  go  back  to  the  .big  house  and 
see  your  folks,  and  I  want  you  to  bring  two  good 
coast  pilots  with  you, —  boys  that  know  both  the 
Santees,  and  Bull's  Ba}^  and  all  the  rest  dowai 
below  Cape  Romain  to  Charleston.  You  needn't 
be  afraid  of  him,"  nodding  toward  the  white  man, 
who  looked  on  with  a  scowl.  "  Now,  you  go  and 
get  two  good  boys.  They  shall  have  good  pay 
and  food." 

Bob  shambled  away,  and  the  big  white  man 
started  to  follow  him. 

"  Stop  where  you  are,"  cried  Casey.  "  Boys, 
keep  those  men  covered  with  your  carbines. 
Come  ashore,  second  cutter." 

Reenforced  by  the  second  crew,  the  whites 
abandoned  whatever  ideas  of  escape  or  resistance 


1 86  JACK  Benson's  log. 

they  may  have  entertained,  and  suffered  them- 
selves to  be  searched  and  disarmed.  For,  after 
the  manner  of  the  South  CaroHnian  of  the  period, 
the  three  carried  heavy  revolvers  in  their  belts. 

"  Sorry,    Mr.  ,  excuse    me,    I    don't   know 

your  name.  But  under  the  circumstances  I  shall 
have  to  search  the  house.  Bring  a  lantern,  quarter- 
master." 

Brown  brought  a  lantern  from  the  boat,  and  the 
two  with  ready  revolvers  proceeded  to  search  the 
house.  Nothing  of  a  suspicious  character  was 
found  beyond  a  rather  liberal  supply  of  firearms 
and  provisions,  which  seemed  excessive  and  un- 
necessary to  Northern  eyes. 

"  ril  leave  you  a  good  shotgun,"  Casey  said, 
"for  I  know  you  depend  largely  on  game  for  a 
living  hereabouts,  but  I  must  take  the  rest  of  these 
arms  on  board  for  safekeeping." 

The  houses  of  the  other  whites  were  searched, 
and  a  number  of  other  weapons  seized.  Before 
this  search  was  concluded  Bob  and  his  two  ' '  boys  " 
were  waiting  by  the  boats.  Two  stalwart,  black 
fellows  in  disreputable  rags,  but  both  having  a 
certain  air  of  the  seaman  about  them,  and  both  ex- 
pressing themselves  ready  and  willing  to  act  as 
pilots  for  a  United  States  gunboat. 

All    hands    reembarked,   and   the  second  cutter 


CONTRABANDS    AS    COAST    PILOTS.  187 

shoved  off.  The  men  of  the  first  cutter  were  in 
their  phices,  and  Casey  was  preparing  to  step 
aboard  when  Bob's  master  again  spoke  :  "I  say, 
mister,  are  you  a  United  States'  officer  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"By  what  right  do  you  take  away  my  nig- 
gers ?  " 

"  By  the  same  right  that  3'ou  Southerners  took 
Fort  Sumter  the  other  da}'." 

"Well,  you  can't  take  my  niggers  ;  I  know  the 
laws  of  the  United  States  and  of  South  Carolina, 
and  3'ou  can't  do  it." 

"  I  shall  do  it,  all  the  same.  The  United  States 
requires  their  services.  Evidently  you  haven't 
heard  down  here  that  niggers  are  '  contraband  of 

war.'     Good    evening,    Mr.   .     By   the    way, 

what  is  your  name  ?  " 

The  answer  to  this  was  something  inaudible  that 
sounded  like  Jackson,  so  Casey  replied  cheerfully, 
"Well,  good-night,  Mr.  Jackson  ;  come  aboard  if 
you  like;  the  captain  will  be  glad  to  see  you. 
No  shooting,  though,  remember,  unless  you're 
prepared  to  keep  up  a  prettv  lively  fight." 

The  fire  on  the  beach  still  gave  light  enough 
for  us  to  see  the  forlorn  population  gazing  after  us 
as  we  disappeared  in  the  darkness,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  we  heard  the  hail  of  the  "Otter's  "  lookout. 


1 88  JACK  Benson's  log. 

rounded  to  alongside,  hoisted  the  boats  aboard,  and 
were  once  more  in  the  comfortable,  well-ordered 
quarters  of  our  ship.  The  black  pilots  were  duly 
presented  to  the  captain,  and  stood  the  cross-ex- 
amination through  which  he  put  them  very  well. 
They  seemed  to  know  all  about  the  vicinit}-,  as 
negro  slaves  did  in  those  times,  and  even  old 
Uncle  Bob,  who  had  been  the  best  pilot  on  the 
coast  in  his  day,  contributed  much  valuable  in- 
formation in  regard  to  the  lay  of  the  land  and  the 
various  channels  available  for  boat  service. 

Next  morning  we  got  under  way,  and,  after  stand- 
ing out  across  the  bar  to  explore  the  different 
channels  of  entrance,  ran  up  tow^ard  George- 
town, and  as  soon  as  w^e  came  in  sight  of  its  houses 
bells  began  to  ring  and  drums  beat  in  expectation 
of  an  attack.  Our  purpose,  however,  was  merely 
to  notify  the  port  authorities  that  the  blockade  had 
been  established,  a  proceeding  that  is  always  cus- 
tomary under  such  circumstances.  A  warning 
similar  to  that  given  to  our  acquaintances  of  the 
night  before  was  also  sent  to  the  military  author- 
ities. 

Hot-headed  Southern  officers  often  got  into 
trouble  by  opening  fire  on  Government  gunboats 
out  of  mere  bravado,  and  many  a  Southern  roof- 
tree  was  burned  because  some  desperado  could  not 


CONTRABANDS    AS    COAST    PILOTS.  189 

refrain  from  taking  a  •'  pot-shot "  at  passing  Yankees, 
when  no  good  to  their  side  could  possibly  result, 
beyond  the  killing  of  one  or  two  men.  Fortunately, 
there  were  enough  cool  heads  in  Georgetown  to 
restrain  local  patriotism  within  the  bounds  of  pru- 
dence, and  after  delivering  our  messages  we 
steamed  back  to  the  anchorage  without  molestation. 

This  little  excursion  up  Georgetown  Bay  was 
merely  a  diversion.  Our  real  purpose  was  a  raid 
into  the  Santee  country,  which  was  rich  in  cotton, 
and  therefore  tempting  to  blockade  runners.   - 

Georgetown,  however,  after  thinking  it  over, 
decided  that  their  first  reception  of  us  had  been 
somewhat  pusillanimous,  and,  having  been  reen- 
forced  by  sundry  companies  of  home  guards  from 
the  interior,  made  preparations  to  annihilate  us. 
These  consisted  mainly  of  fire  rafts,  torpedoes, 
etc.,  which  generally  ran  aground  before  they 
reached  us  or  refused  to  explode  under  any  cir- 
cumstances. 

Upon  the  whole,  they  afforded  us  rather  more 
amusement  than  cause  for  anxiet}',  and  probably 
served  to  keep  the  volunteers  from  aggressions 
that  would  have  caused  bloodshed.  By  daylight 
we  did  not  habitually  have  any  intercourse  with 
"Pilot  Town,"  but  ever}^  night  one  or  more  of 
our  negro  pilots  went  ashore  in  a  canoe  that  they 


190  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

had  brought  with  them,  visited  their  friends  in  the 
settlement,  and  kept  themselv^es  informed  of  the 
various  plots  that  were  in  preparation. 

There  were,  it  appeared,  several  schooners  and 
sloops  loading  with  cotton  in  the  two  Santees  and 
at  Georo-etown.  In  the  river  three  of  these  vessels 
were  reported  ready  for  sea,  and  Captain  Ross 
determined,  if  possible,  either  to  destroy  or  cut 
them  out  before  they  could  escape.  These  three 
were  in  the  South  Santee  River,  below  Brown's 
Island,  and  anchored  at  short  intervals,  so  that  one 
could  not  well  be  captured  without  giving  warning 
to  the  others.  Report  had  it,  moreover,  that  all  of 
them  were  provided  with  armed  guards. 

The  white  men  who  figured  in  our  first  visit  to 
the  shore  had  disappeared  before  "  sun-up,"  as  the 
local  phrase  has  it,  the  next  morning,  and  not  till 
the  next  day  after  that  did  Uncle  Bob,  in  a  chance 
conversation  with  the  captain  and  Lieutenant 
Casey,  speak  of  their  leader  by  name. 

"  Who  did  you  say?  "  asked  Ross  sharply. 

"  Marsa  Jay  Hawkson,  sah." 

Ross  and  Case}'  stared  at  one  another  aghast. 

"Why  didn't  you  tell  us  that  before?  " 

"Nobody  axed  me,  sah,"  said  Uncle  Bob,  un- 
consciously quoting  the  classic  song. 

"  Did  you  ask  his  name,  Casey?" 


CONTRABANDS    AS    COAST    PILOTS.  I9I 

"Yes,  sir,  and  I  understood  him  to  say  Jackson, 
or  some  such  name,"  and  Casey's  handsome  face 
became  very  blank.  It  was  evident  that  he  had 
carelessly  missed  a  chance  that  was  not  likely  to 
offer  again. 

The  captain  could  hardly  disguise  his  vexation. 

"  Great  Scott!  "  he  exclaimed,  "  what  a  chance 
you  have  lost !  The  very  fellow  we  are  after ! 
Well,  never  mind,  Casey,"  he  added,  seeing  that 
officer's  chagrin  ;  "  maybe  we  can  give  you  another 
chance  at  him,"  —  prophetic  words  that  were  sadl}^ 
remembered  a  few  days  later. 

On  reviewing  the  incidents  of  the  first  night's 
expedition,  it  was  evident  how  the  mistake  had 
occurred.  Uncle  Bob,  knowing  the  man's  true 
name,  had  understood  it  correctly  when  it  was  given 
in  reply  to  Casey's  inquir}^  and  supposed  that 
Casey  had  understood  also.  The  vexatious  part 
was  that  this  Jay  Hawkson,  a  slave  trader,  was  the 
notorious  leader  of  a  local  band  of  Regulators  who 
had  hanged  two  Union  men  in  Georgia  a  few 
weeks  before.  News  of  this  outrage  had  reached 
Fortress  Monroe,  and,  hearing  that  Hawkson  was 
in  the  Santee  country,  his  capture  was  planned  as 
part  of  the  "  Otter's"  duty. 

Poor  Casey  could  not  forgive  himself  for  having 
failed  to  detect  and  arrest  this  desperado  when  he 


192  JACK  Benson's  log. 

had  him  within  his  grasp.  Bob  declared  that  he 
and  the  boys  would  find  out  precisel}^  where  he 
was  quartered  on  the  Santee.  Indeed,  they  thought 
they  already  knew.  It  had  not  occurred  to  these 
simple-minded  fellows  that  it  was  worth  while  to 
mention  such  a  commonplace  affair  as  the  hanging 
of  one  or  two  Union  men  and  a  casual  negro  or 
so. 

While  these  things  were  transpiring,  although 
only  two  or  three  days  had  elapsed,  Uncle  Bob 
was  pining  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  that 
he  should  go  over  to  Santee  and  see  the  old  folks 
again,  and  at  last  Captain  Ross  consented  to  let 
him  go  ashore  and  make  his  wa}^  across  countr}^,  as 
he  could  by  the  devious  ways  known  to  the  negro 
slave,  so  that  he  could  see  once  more  the  old  cabin 
that  he  called  home. 

The  old  fellow  was  a  sort  of  "Uncle  Remus," 
although  this  latter  character  was  at  that  time  un- 
known to  fiction,  and  he  had  become  quite  a  favor- 
ite with  all  hands  on  board.  So,  with  the  promise 
to  retvn^n  within  three  days,  he  was  set  ashore  one 
evening,  and  went  off  in  high  spirits,  thanking 
everybody  for  their  kindness  to  the  "  poor  old  nig- 
ger." That  same  night,  however,  a  little  before 
daylight,  the  officer  on  watch  heard  something  of 
a  rumpus  on  shore — dogs  barking,  and  shouting 


CONTRABANDS    AS    COAST    PILOTS.  1 93 

that  lasted  for  a  little  time.  But,  as  the  population 
of  Pilot  Town  was  given  to  orgies  by  night  when- 
ever whisky  could  be  obtained  in  sufficient  quan- 
tities to  justif}^  the  exertion,  he  had  thought  no 
more  of  it,  and  the  hours  waxed  on  in  quiet. 

But  as  the  sun  came  up  and  dissipated  the  thin 
mists  that  floated  along  the  river  in  early  morn- 
ing, he  made  his  customary  survey  of  the  sur- 
roundings with  a  powerful  marine  glass.  As  he 
swept  the  shore  line  in  careful  inspection,  he  came 
to  a  sudden  stop  with  his  glass  leveled  at  the  town. 
Something  was  hanging  on  the  limb  of  one  of  the 
trees,  something  unfamiliar,  something  that  hung 
heavily  down  and  yet  swayed  and  twisted  in  ghastly 
fashion  in  the  gentle  morning  breeze.  A  boat  was 
at  once  lowered  and  sent  to  investigate.  Sure 
enough,  it  was  poor  old  Uncle  Bob,  who  had  been 
waylaid  by  the  Regulators,  brought  back  to  the 
scene  of  his  servitude,  and  hanged  defiantly,  under 
cover  of  darkness,  within  easy  range  of  his  pro- 
tectors' guns. 

The  remaining  negro  population  of  Pilot  Town 
was  in  terrified  retirement,  Hawkson  and  his  gang 
having  been  liberal  with  blows  and  threats.  But 
as  the  rising  sun  warmed  their  bodies  and  vanished 
their  fears  to  some  extent,  they  came  out  of  their 
hiding-places  and  told  the  story.      The  regulators 


194  JACK    BENSON'S    LOG. 

had  been  recognized  as  they  performed  their  act 
of  vengeance,  and  had  promptly  ridden  away  be- 
fore the  light  of  dawn  appeared  in  the  East,  leav- 
ing behind  them  threats  of  dire  vengeance  should 
any  further  aid  be  given  to  the  Yankee  invaders. 

Of  course  this  atrocious  act  made  us  all  the  more 
anxious  to  carry  out  the  purpose  of  our  expedition, 
and  man}^  were  the  vows  of  vengeance  registered 
that  day  on  board  the  "  Otter  "  as  the  venerable  old 
slave  was  buried  in  the  sand  with  the  honors  of 
war.  Captain  Ross  reading  the  burial  service,  and 
the  ragged  negro  population  standing  around  with 
faces  still  ashy  from  fright. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE. 

THE  shore  expeditions  of  our  negro  pilots 
were  rendered  still  more  hazardous  by  this 
experience.  Nevertheless,  they  were  brave  enough, 
and  did  not  hesitate  to  venture  ashore  when  their 
friends  signaled  that  the  coa.st  was  clear.  As 
soon  as  it  was  definitely  learned  where  Hawkson's 
headquarters  were,  preparations  began  for  as 
formidable  an  expedition  as  could  be  managed  with 
the  "Otter's"  resources.  With  a  view  to  some 
such  emergency,  and  considering  our  largely  in- 
creased strength  of  numbers  from  the  addition  of 
the  volunteer  "  horse  marines,"  we  had  come  pro- 
vided with  extra  boats,  so  that,  leaving  enough  men 
on  board  to  work  the  ship,  and  even  defend  her  in 
case  of  need,  we  could  muster  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men  for  the  expedition.  Ever  since  coming 
into  the  bay  soldiers  and  sailors  had  alike  been 
drilled  in  embarkinij  and  landing  under  various 
conditions,  Lighthouse  Point  being  well  adapted 
for  such  exercises. 

195 


196  '         JACK  Benson's  log. 

Our  pilots  were  doubtful  about  getting  over  the 
South  Santee  bar  at  night,  but  declared  their  abil- 
ity to  do  so  by  daylight  at  any  time  except  dead 
low  tide.  One  evening,  accordingly,  after  dark, 
we  slipped  our  cable,  and  dropped  down  the 
channel  with  all  lights  housed,  and  ran  round  the 
few  miles  intervening  to  the  mouth  of  the  Santee. 
The  sea  was  comparatively  calm,  and  boats  were 
lowered,  and  the  soldiers  and  sailors  boarded 
them  without  confusion,  their  persistent  drills  hav- 
ing rendered  it  possible  to  effect  this  without  con- 
fusion, even  when  the  ship  was  rolling  in  the 
seaway. 

Our  two  pilots  had  both  been  so  anxious  to  go 
on  this  expedition,  that  they  had  to  be  allowed  to 
draw  lots  in  order  to  prevent  them  from  coming 
to  blows.  But  at  last  a  decision  was  reached  in 
favor  of  black  Joe,  perhaps  the  best  of  the  two, 
although  there  was,  in  fact,  little  to  choose  between 
them. 

For  the  benefit  of  Northern  readers,  it  should, 
perhaps,  be  explained  that  many  of  the  pilots 
along  our  Southern  coast  at  that  time  were  negro 
slaves.  Often  they  were  hired  out  by  their  owners 
and  employed  by  white  men  who  lived  near  the 
coast  and  turned  an  honest  penny  by  pocketing 
pilot  fees  for  their  own  benefit. 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  I97 

This  had  been  the  case  with  poor  Uncle  Bob  and 
the  two  boys  whom  he  had  brought  to  us.  Often 
the  coast  pilots  w^ere  men  of  high  courage  and 
great  native  intelligence,  as  was  the  case  notably 
with  Robert  Small,  who  made  his  escape  from 
Charleston,  carrying  out  a  steamer  of  wdiich  he 
was  the  pilot,  and  surrendering  her  to  the  blockad- 
ing fleet  in  the  offing. 

Under  conduct  of  our  less  famous  Joe,  the  boats 
fell  into  column,  and  pulled  away  from  the  ship 
toward  the  place  where  the  rollers  were  growling 
on  the  shoal  water  of  the  bar.  Joe  stood  up  in  the 
bow  of  the  leading  boat,  "  nosing  out"  the  deepest 
water  with  that  extraordinary  instinct  that  belongs  to 
the  born  pilot,  and  very  soon  the  five  heavily  laden 
boats,  after  tossing  for  a  few  moments  somewhat 
perilously,  passed  over  into  the  quiet  water  within 
the  bar.  The  tide  was  beginning  to  run  flood,  and 
after  half  an  hour  of  leisurely  rowing,  the  whole 
flotilla  was  well  behind  the  southern  point  of  Cedar 
Island  which  separates  the  two  Santees. 

It  was  believed  to  be  about  five  miles  to  the  place 
where  Hawkson  was  supposed  to  have  his  head- 
quarters,—  A  plantation  house  well  known  to  our 
guide,  who  had  clearly  described  its  surroundings. 
It  was  pretty  certain  that  he  would  have  his  gang 
with  him,  but  how  many  was  purely  a  matter  of 


198  JACK  Benson's  log. 

conjecture.  That  they  were  all  desperate  charac- 
ters and  well  armed  was  certain,  and  it  was  more 
than  probable  that  they  would  make  a  resistance 
worthy  their  reputation,  no  matter  how  large  the 
odds  might  be  that  were  brought  against  them. 

The  three  schooners  that  I  have  mentioned  be- 
fore as  being  ready  for  sea  were  between  the 
mouth  of  the  river  and  this  uldmate  point  of  our 
destination,  but  precisely  where  we  did  not  know. 
We  had  to  pass  them  before  reaching  our  goal,  but 
hoped  to  effect  this  undiscovered,  by  keeping  along 
the  south  shore  of  the  river,  where  we  could  take 
advantage  of  the  shelter  afforded  by  certain  islands 
and  be  at  the  same  time  at  the  greatest  possible 
distance  from  the  anchored  vessels. 

I  had  managed  to  smuggle  myself  into  the  lead- 
ing boat,  on  the  plea  of  carr3'ing  Lieutenant 
Casey's  haversack  for  him,  and  crouched  close 
behind  Pilot  Joe  as  he  stood  up  in  the  bow.  I  con- 
sidered mj^self  about  as  keen  sighted  a  3'oungster 
as  any  afloat,  but  black  Joe  taught  me  a  lesson  as 
to  my  own  inferiority.  I  soon  found  that  he  could 
see  objects  on  shore  and  in  the  water  with  great  dis- 
tinctness long  before  I  could  make  them  out  at  all. 
In  short,  he  had  veritable  owls'  eyes,  a  gift  not 
uncommon  among  his  race,  and  peculiarly  culti- 
vated, of  course,  by  those  in  his  calling. 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  I99 

This  was  really  my  first  serious  experience  of  an 
expedition  probably  involving  an  encounter  with 
the  enemy  and  more  or  less  loss  of  life.  The  affair 
of  Hatteras,  while  far  more  formidable  in  the  eyes 
of  the  world  and  more  important  in  history,  was  a 
very  different  affair  from  this. 

The  familiar  surroundings  of  every-day  naval 
life,  the  consciousness  of  being  supported  by  ship- 
mates, by  big  guns  with  trained  men  behind  them, 
all  conspired  to  impart  a  feeling  of  confidence,  and 
I  had  been  full  of  fight  from  the  time  when  the 
first  shot  was  fired.  It  was  a  very  different  mat- 
ter,—  this  dark  and  silent  river,  the  low,  sullen 
grumbling  of  the  bar  as  we  left  it  astern,  the  cloudy 
sky  overhead,  barely  touched  in  spots  by  the  dim 
light  of  the  young  moon,  the  measured  swish  of 
oars,  the  dark,  swaying  forms  of  men. 

I  could  not  for  the  life  of  me  help  remembering 
that  River  of  Death  that  I  had  so  often  heard  about 
in  the  old  church  at  Stonyhaven,  and  which  I  had 
pretty  well  forgotten  since  my  enlistment.  Before 
I  knew  it  I  was  saying  over  to  myself  the  refrain 
of  a  hymn  that  I  had  once  heard  at  a  camp- 
meeting  :  — 

"  One  dark  river  to  cross, 
One  dark  river  to  cross." 

Over  and  over  this  fateful    line  insisted  on  re- 


2O0  JACK    BENSON'S    LOG. 

peating  itself,  and  I  was  fast  getting  into  what  our 
English  cousins  call  "  a  blue  funk  "  when  Joe 
whispered,  "  Dah's  one  of  dem  schooners." 

My  nervousness  vanished  in  an  instant,  and  I 
strained  my  eyes  into  the  darkness,  but  not  a  sug- 
gestion could  I  see  of  anything  like  a  schooner. 
However,  I  passed  the  word  aft,  as  in  duty  bound. 

"Avast  pulling,  men,"  said  Casey,  in  low  tone, 
and  the  other  boats,  following  suit,  drifted  on  in 
absolute  silence  with  the  flowing  tide. 

Casey  came  forward,  stepping  lightly  from 
thwart  to  thwart,  and  stood  with  his  hand  on  Joe's 
shoulder. 

"  Whereaway  is  she,  Joe?  " 

"  Right  ahead,  Marsa  Casey,"  and  he  pointed 
into  the  blackness  of  the  pine  forest  that  bordered 
the  shore. 

Casey  adjusted  his  night  glasses,  and  after  a  long, 
silent  look,  "  Blest  if  I  can  see  a  thing,"  he  said. 

"  She  dab,  sure  enough,  Marsa  Casey.  Fse 
got  cat's  eyes,  I  has.  I  kin  see  her  plain.  She's 
got  a  deckload  of  cotton  bales." 

"  Well,"  Casey  said,  "  show  us  the  best  way  to 
get  past,  whether  she's  there  or  not." 

So  the  flotilla  altered  its  course  and  managed  to 
drift  by  without  attracting  attention.  Indeed,  it 
was  not  until  we  were  opposite  the  point  that  Joe 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  20I 

had  indicated  that  we  made  out  a  dim  light  appar- 
ently coming  from  the  cabin  windows. 

Rowing  was  resumed  as  soon  as  a  safe  distance 
had  been  passed,  and  Joe  directed  our  course  be- 
hind the  islands  before  referred  to,  which  extended 
the  better  part  of  a  mile  along  the  southern  shore 
of  the  river.  As  we  passed  the  cut  between  two 
of  these  islands,  Joe  remarked,  "  Dah's  anuder  on 
'em,  sah,"  and  in  due  course  most  of  us  were  able 
to  see  a  dim  tracery  of  topmasts  against  the  sky. 

When  we  came  out  into  the  open  water  above 
the  island,  where  the  river  takes  a  wide  sweep  to 
the  southward,  the  third  and  last  of  the  three  could 
be  seen,  or,  rather,  Joe  said  that  she  could  be 
seen,  at  anchor  under  the  farther  shore.  They 
were  at  such  a  distance,  however,  that,  with  the 
wind  toward  us,  there  was  no  danger  of  their 
hearing  the  sound  of  our  oars. 

About  half  a  mile  above  the  upper  island,  Joe 
broke  the  silence  with,  "  Most  dah  now.  Mars 
Cap'n,"  and  he  said  further  that  the  river  was 
clear  above.  Going  aft,  he  took  the  helm,  and 
steered  our  boat  into  the  bank.  This  place  was 
about  a  third  of  a  mile  below  our  destination,  and, 
as  there  was  a  fairish  shore  for  landing,  the  boats 
were  pulled  up  against  the  bank,  and  all  hands 
disembarked  to  recover  from  the  cramped  position 


202  JACK    BENSON S    LOG. 

of  the  last  three  hours.  Joe,  at  his  own  sugges- 
tion, went  alone  to  look  over  the  ground  before  the 
men  advanced  farther. 

' '  I  don't  reckon  I  won't  be  gone  not  more'n  a 
half  an  hour,  Marsa  Cap'n,"  he  said,  executing 
one  of  the  extraordinary  triple  negatives  common 
among  the  Southern  negroes  and  low-down  whites  ; 
"  not  more'n  a  half  an  hour,  Marsa  Cap'n  ;  dar's 
a  dog  I  wants  to  get  shut  up  if  I  anyways  kin." 

The  path  by  which  Joe  disappeared  was  at  once 
picketed,  three  men  being  stationed  in  the  woods 
to  guard  against  surprise.  In  a  few  minutes  we 
heard  a  fierce  barking  in  the  direction  of  the 
plantation,  which  quickly  subsided  to  a  whine  of 
recognition,  and  then  all  became  quiet  again. 
Another  long  interval,  and  then  the  picket  chal- 
lenge cautiously. 

"All  right,  it's  me,"  was  the  answ^er  in  Joe's 
voice. 

"  Coast  all  clar,  Marsa  Casey,  but  I  s'pect  de 
dogs  round  de  big  house  is  goin'  for  to  make 
trouble.  I  didn't  darst  to  go  very  nigh.  Now 
here's  de  way  it  am,  Marsa  Casey.  De  parf 
goes  straight  along  shore  through  de  woods  from 
here  to  de  aidge  of  de  clearin'.  De  nigger  quar- 
ters is  on  de  lef,  and  de  big  house  on  de  right,  just 
afore  yer.     De  nigger  dogs  is  all  shet  up." 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  203 

Casey  told  the  men  to  fall  in,  the  "  horse 
marine "  captain  forming  up  his  men  in  good 
shape.  This  captain,  by  the  way,  was  ranking 
officer,  but,  like  the  sensible  fellow  he  was,  he 
had  waived  rank  in  view  of  the  semi-naval  charac- 
ter of  the  expedition.  In  single  file,  the  detach- 
ment moved  off  into  the  dark  path,  with  some 
unavoidable  clankings  of  accouterments  and  oc- 
casional stumblings  over  cypress  knees  or  other 
obstructions. 

It  is  only  savage  war  parties  that  can  move 
with  absolute  silence  through  an  unknown  coun- 
try, especially  if  it  is  heavily  wooded.  There  is 
always  something  about  the  equipment  of  a  civ- 
ilized soldier  that  rattles  or  clanks  at  an  unex- 
pected moment.  Hence,  it  is  almost  out  of  the 
question  to  steal  undiscovered  upon  a  vigilant 
enemy.  In  the  present  case  we  did  not  count 
upon  the  enemj^'s  being  vigilant.  His  most  trust- 
worthy videttes,  the  dogs  of  the  negro  quarter, 
were  in  confinement,  and,  barring  accidents,  we 
could  come  well  out  of  the  woods  before  detection 
from  the  plantation  house,  which  was  our  ob- 
jective point. 

On  reaching  the  opening,  our  guide  halted,  and 
the  officers  had  a  consultation.  The  stars  gave 
light   enough  to   see  the  big  house,    a  low,    wide- 


204  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

roofed  structure,  with  overhanging  eaves  and  ve- 
randas surrounding  it,  in  the  usual  Southern  style. 
On  looking  over  the  ground,  the  plan  of  operations 
was  quickly  perfected  and  explained  to  the  men. 
The  detachment  divided,  part  going  round  in  the 
rear  of  the  house,  and  the  other  skirting  the  river 
bank  so  as  to  pass  in  front  of  it  and  join  the  others 
when  the  circuit  was  completed,  while  a  third  de- 
tachment, acting  as  a  reserve  under  Casey  himself, 
was  to  wait  till  the  house  was  nearly  surrounded 
and  then  advance  directly  by  the  path. 

The  men  stepped  off  when  the  word  was  given 
to  advance,  following  one  another  and  taking  in- 
tervals as  they  went,  each  one,  that  is,  allowing  his 
leader  to  go  five  or  six  paces  before  following 
him. 

"  Now,  Marsa  Cap'n,"  said  Joe  at  this  point,  "  if 
you'll  scuse  dis  chile  he'll  just  stay  right  yere  wid 
the  doctor  by  dis  big  gum  tree." 

Casey  could  not  help  laughing  at  this,  but  he 
made  no  objection,  and  I  will  not  deny  that  at  the 
moment  I  would  have  been  quite  willing  to  have 
remained  with  Joe.  I  had  volunteered,  however, 
to  carry  a  carbine  for  Casey  to  use,  so  I  was 
bound  to  accompany  him,  and  was  very  proud  at 
being  for  the  first  time  trusted  with  arms. 

By  this  time  the  men  had  been  gone  five  or  ten 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  205 

minutes,  and  it  was  thought  that  they  must  have 
nearly  completed  the  circuit,  when  suddenly  a 
hound  barked  hoarsely,  and  then  there  was  a 
frightened,  inarticulate  voice  heard,  which  gradually 
gathered  itself  into  a  negro  woman's  shriek,  coming 
from  between  the  negro  quarters  and  the  house. 

"  O  Marsa  Jay,  Marsa  Jay,"  it  cried,  "  the 
Yankees  is  yere  !  the  Yankees  is  yere  I"  and  there 
was  a  noise  of  frantic  running  toward  the  house. 
Evidently  one  of  the  women  slaves  in  the  quarters 
who  was  faithful  to  the  interests  of  the  big  house 
had  discovered  the  danger  and  betrayed  us. 

"  Forward,  boys,  double  quick,"  cried  Casey, 
leading  the  way.  "  Skirmishers  close  in  straight 
on  the  house  I"  and  I  could  hear  the  order  repeated 
by  other  officers  along  the  line. 

Dark  forms  became  dimly  visible  amid  the  stand- 
ing cotton  plants,  all  pushing  their  way  in  the 
direction  of  the  big  house.  Meanwhile,  we  of  the 
reserve  were  running  more  directly  by  the  path. 
The  house  remained  dark,  but  as  we  drew  near 
there  were  hangings  of  door  and  voices  calling 
within,  and  before  we  had  covered  more  than  half 
the  interval  angr}'  little  spurts  of  fire  began  to  dart 
from  the  closed  windows.  Two  big  dogs  came 
bounding  down  the  path  toward  Casey,  who  shot 
one  of  them  with  his  revolver,   while  one  of   the 


2o6  JACK  Benson's  log. 

blue  jackets  spitted  the  other  cleverly  upon  his 
sabre  bayonet.  The  barks  of  deliance  changed  to 
howls,  and  we  rushed  on. 

"  Close  up  to  the  gallery  and  fire  at  the  win- 
dows !  "  was  the  word,  and  in  another  moment  a 
cordon  of  men  was  kneeling  on  the  ground,  partly 
concealed  from  those  within  by  the  edge  of  the  low 
veranda. 

The  house  was  a  spacious  mansion,  covering  a 
large  area  of  ground,  and  the  windows,  as  is  the 
fashion  at  the  South,  were  all  provided  with  solid 
wooden  shutters.  Through  these,  at  a  convenient 
height,  augur  holes  had  been  bored  in  view  of 
emergencies,  and  the  lively  fire  that  was  kept  up 
at  first  showed  that  Hawkson's  gang  was  by  no 
means  intimidated  by  our  attack. 

The  fire  of  the  attacking  party  was  so  brisk, 
however,  that  it  was  impossible  to  remain  alive 
near  the  window  sand  the  house  soon  became  silent. 
Word  was  passed  along  the  line  to  cease  firing, 
and  Casey,  prudently  taking  shelter  behind  a  tree, 
where  I  blush  to  confess  I  was  already  in  hiding, 
sung  out,  "  Have  you  got  the  back  door  well 
guarded,  Lawson?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  came  from  beyond  the  building. 

"  Shoot  down  anybody  that  attempts  to  escape." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir." 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  207 

Just  here  there  was  a  sharp  flash  from  one  of 
the  front  windows  near  at  hand,  and  the  bark  flew 
from  the  tree-trunk  close  to  Case3^'s  head.  Half  a 
dozen  carbines  instantly  spoke  in  reply,  and  there 
was  a  groan  and  a  heavy  fall  on  the  floor  within 
the  house. 

"Hallo,  the  house,"  called  Casey.  "The 
longer  you  keep  up  that  kind  of  thing,  the  worse 
it  will  be  for  you.  I'll  give  3'ou  Ave  minutes  to 
surrender,  and  then  I  shall  set  the  house  on  fire." 

Casey  rubbed  a  bunch  of  matches  on  the  wet 
sole  of  his  boot,  and  held  the  glowing  phosphorous 
against  the  crystal  of  his  watch,  so  that  he  could 
see  the  time.  All  was  still  within  ;  some  of  our  men 
took  the  opportunity  to  fall  back  to  the  shelter  of 
trees  near  at  hand,  the  better  to  command  the  dif- 
ferent exits,  and  the  reserve  was  arranged  on  both 
sides  of  the  front  steps. 

"  Four  minutes  gone,"  called  Casey,  and,  after  a 
pause  that  seemed  interminable,  "  Time's  up  !  Are 
you  ready  with  the  fatwood  under  the  house, 
there?" 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir  ;   all  ready." 

Casey  paused,  I  suppose  to  give  them  a 
moment's  grace,  but  unconditional  surrender  was 
a  term  not  included  in  Jay  Hawkson's  somewhat 
limited  vocabulary.      Without  a  preliminary  sound 


2o8  JACK  Benson's  log. 

of  warning,  the  inner  bolts  shot  back,  the  double 
doors  swung  open,  and  a  crowd  of  dusky  figures 
swarmed  out,  clearing  the  veranda  at  a  bound 
handling  their  revolvers  with  deadly  facility  and 
dashing  away  toward  the  standing  timber,  each 
man  for  himself. 

Our  blue-jackets  and  soldiers  were  prompt 
enough  to  respond ;  the  leader  of  the  party,  a 
gigantic  fellow  with  a  "live"  revolver  in  each 
hand,  was  shot  and  bayoneted  at  the  same  moment 
as  he  leaped  from  the  veranda  to  the  ground. 
Casey,  who  had  sprung  forward  at  the  first  indica- 
tion of  a  rush,  had  discharged  his  own  revolver  as 
he  ran,  and  the  next  instant  I  saw  him  throw  up 
both  hands  and  reel  backward. 

Forgetting  my  own  nervousness  of  a  moment 
before,  I  jumped  to  his  side,  half  raising  him,  so 
that  his  head  rested  on  my  knee,  while  the  scurry- 
ing fight  spread  itself  over  the  broad  lawn  and 
died  away  with  dropping  shots  in  the  edge  of  the 
timber  as  the  survivors  escaped  into  a  tangled  un- 
dergrowth of  palmetto  scrub. 

Meanwhile,  a  similar  break  for  liberty  had  been 
made  from  the  rear  door.  Probably  there  had  not 
been  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  men  in  the  house 
altogether,  but  in  the  darkness  and  confusion  they 
looked  to  be  fifty,  and,   aided  by  familiarity  with 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  2O9 

the  locality,  most  of  them  escaped  to  the  woods, 
leavincf  one  of  their  number  dead  on  the  floor 
within,  another  on  the  lawn,  and  four  wounded  in 
our  hands  on  the  ground  outside. 

Finding  that  Mr.  Casey  could  not  speak,  though 
he  was  still  breathing,  and  unable  in  the  darkness 
to  locate  his  wound,  I  laid  him  down  and  shouted 
for  Captain  Lawson,  who  I  knew  must  be  within 
hearing.  He  came  presently,  and,  sending  word 
to  the  surgeon,  we  carried  the  wounded  man  into 
the  house,  where  presently  a  light  was  procured 
and  an  examination  made. 

The  poor  fellow  was  shot  through  the  head,  and 
was  quite  unconscious,  and,  though  he  breathed 
for  awhile,  he  could  not  be  resuscitated,  and  died 
before  we  could  get  him  to  the  boat.  The  news 
of  this  loss  quickly  spread  among  the  men,  and,  as 
it  was  nearly  certain  that  he  had  fallen  to  the 
pistol  of  the  rebel  leader,  I  thought  for  a  moment 
that  they  would  break  the  restraints  of  discipline 
and  bayonet  the  wounded  man  under  the  surgeon's 
hands.  This  big  fellow  turned  out  to  be  Hawkson 
himself,  mortally  hurt,  but  defiant  to  the  last. 

We  soon  found  that  there  were  some  frightened 
negresses  and  three  white  women  in  the  upper 
stor3^of  the  house,  and,  placing  a  guard  at  the  foot 
of  the  stairs  to  protect  them  from  possible  annoy- 


2IO  JACK  Benson's  log. 

ance,  we  carried  their  wounded  up  to  them.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  ferocity  with  which  those 
white  women  regarded  us  Yankee  invaders.  Of 
course  it  was  perfectly  natural  that  they  should 
not  be  particularly  cordial  under  the  circumstances, 
but  such  vindictiveness  few  of  us  had  ever  seen  on 
feminine  faces  before.  They  asked  that  Hawkson 
himself  be  left  to  their  care,  and  I  really  think 
that  if  they  could  have  killed  him,  rather  than 
have  him  taken  away,  he  would  never  have  left  the 
house  alive. 

Day  was  breaking  when  the  last  of  our  men 
came  straggling  back  in  answer  to  the  "  recall," 
and  a  hasty  muster  showed  seven  wounded,  two  of 
them  quite  seriously.  Not  knowing  how  soon  the 
enemy  might  be  down  upon  us  in  superior  force, 
the  boats  were  brought  up  to  the  plantation  landing, 
our  dead  leader  and  the  wounded  carried  tenderly 
aboard,  and  we  started  down  stream  on  the  first 
of  the  ebb. 

It  had  been  arranged  that  the  "Otter"  should 
run  up  the  river  as  soon  as  there  was  light  enough 
to  clear  the  bar,  and,  if  possible,  capture  or  destroy 
the  cotton  schooners.  But  we  had  accomplished 
our  work  sooner  than  was  expected,  and  were  on 
our  way  down  stream  before  it  was  broad  day. 
The  schooner  that  lay  up  stream  nearest  the  scene 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  211 

of  our  recent  encounter  was  promptly  abandoned 
as  soon  as  we  were  discovered ;  the  guards  that 
were  looked  for  onboard,  having  no  material  exis- 
tence, and  the  crews  no  intention  of  showing  fight. 
It  was  not  unlikely  that  some  of  her  people  might 
have  heard  the  firing  at  the  plantation  as  the  dis- 
tance was  not  too  great.  At  all  events,  they  made 
good  time  going  ashore  in  a  small  boat,  having  first 
set  the  cotton  on  fire,  to  prevent  its  falling  into  our 
hands. 

The  second  cutter,  which  was  ahead,  was  pretty 
close  upon  their  heels,  and  pulled  alongside  before 
the  flames  were  fairly  started.  Scrambling  on 
board,  the  men  tumbled  the  blazing  bales  into  the 
river.  Fortunately  they  were  livel}-  about  it,  for  a 
train  had  been  laid  to  explode  some  powder  kegs 
stowed  in  the  hold.  This  disaster  was  luckily 
averted  by  a  Jacky,  who  saw  the  loose  powder  on 
deck,  and  promptly  sat  down  upon  it,  getting  his 
skin  as  well  as  his  trousers  scorched  by  the  flash 
that  came  just  too  late  to  make  mischief.  The 
"  Otter  "  thus  reckoned  another  prize  to  her  credit, 
in  which,  however,  the  "horse  marines"  were 
properly  entitled  to  a  share. 

When  all  danger  from  fire  was  over,  we  put  a 
crew  of  them  on  board  at  their  own  request,  trans- 
ferring our  killed  and  wounded  to  her  deck,  where 


212  JACK    BENSON S    LOG. 

there  was  more  room  for  their  proper  bestowal. 
The  "marines"  made  sail  on  her  at  once,  got 
under  way  handsomely,  and  came  bowling  down 
the  river  just  as  the  boat  flotilla  was  nearing  the 
second  schooner. 

On  this  craft  the  work  had  been  more  thoroughly 
done.  She  was  burning  too  fiercely  to  be  ap- 
proached, so  we  gave  her  a  wide  berth,  and  she 
blew  up  shortly  after  we  had  paused,  scattering 
a  cargo  of  burning  bales  over  the  river,  and 
presently  sinking  at  her  anchorage.  Just  below 
this  we  sighted  the  masts  and  smokestack  of  the 
"  Otter"  down  toward  the  bar,  and  No.  3  schooner 
lay  still  nearer.  No  signs  of  smoke  or  life  were 
visible  about  her,  and  we  could  now  see  that  Joe's 
description  of  her  deckload  of  cotton  bales  had 
been  correct. 

As  the  "  Otter"  was  coming  up  the  river,  and 
we  could  soon  join  forces  with  the  full  crew,  it  was 
decided  to  let  schooner  No.  3  severely  alone. 

"  Don't  like  her  looks,  nohow,  she  too-  still," 
said  Joe.      "  Look  like  she  play  possum." 

Accordingly,  the  boat  flotilla  sheered  off  and 
went  down  stream  to  meet  the  "  Otter." 

Not  so,  however,  the  temporary  captain  of 
schooner  No.  i,  whose  volunteer  crew  of  soldier- 
sailor  men  was  in  high  spirits  at  having  a  sure- 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  213 

enough  sailing  craft  once  more  under  their  feet.  A 
young  lieutenant  of  the  Eighth  Massachusetts  was 
in  command,  he  having  been  on  two  or  three  voyages 
to  "  the  banks  "  in  a  Marblehead  fisherman.  With 
dare-devil  recklessness,  having  a  good  off-shore 
wind  on  his  quarter  and  all  plain  sail  drawing,  he 
steered  so  as  to  pass  within  half  a  cable's  length 
of  the  suspicious  schooner,  going  at  a  great  rate. 
But  for  some  mysterious  reason,  or  perhaps  at 
a  hint  from  one  of  his  more  experienced  crew,  his 
mind  misgave  him  a  bit  at  the  last  moment.  He 
had  the  wheel  himself,  and  sharply  ordered  his 
men  to  take  such  cover  as  was  afforded  by  the 
cotton  bales  still  remaining  on  deck. 

"  Take  your  rifles  with  you,"  he  cried,  and  none 
too  soon,  for  the  hitherto  mythical  cotton  guard 
that  we  had  looked  for  on  the  other  schooners  now 
materialized  suddenly  in  the  shape  of  some  fifty 
gray  slouch  hats  that  arose  from  behind  a  rampart 
of  cotton  bales  placed  end  to  end  along  the 
gunwale  of  the  schooner.  Over  these  at  the  same 
time  were  thrust  the  brown  barrels  of  as  many 
recently  imported  English  rifles,  and  a  rattling 
volley  followed  the  heavy  conical  bullets,  scoring 
long  white  rents  across  the  cotton  bales,  or  striking 
with  a  heavy  thud  against  their  perpendicular  sides. 
Down  went  the  young  lieutenant-skipper  with    a 


214  JACK    BENSON S    LOG. 

wound  in  his  thigh,  and  some  of  the  men  who  had 
not  taken  warning  in  time  carried  away  with  them 
mementos  of  these  deadly  Southern  riflemen.  The 
heutenant  was  so  hard  hit  tliat  he  lost  his  grip  of 
the  wheel,  which  went  spinning  over  to  port  as  the 
vessel  took  the  bit  between  her  teeth  and  rounded 
to  with  all  her  canvas  slatting  before  any  one  could 
jump  to  take  his  place. 

Fortunately,  with  a  sailor's  instinct,  the  helmsman 
had  passed  to  windward  of  the  anchored  craft,  and, 
as  the  head  sails  were  pretty  well  sheeted  home, 
her  headway  carried  her  over  toward  the  north 
shore  of  the  river,  where  she  took  the  ground 
comfortably,  and  was  evidently  berthed  there  for 
the  next  high  tide,  unless  helped  off. 

The  place  where  she  grounded  was  a  tolerably 
long  rifle  range  from  the  Confederate  schooner, 
and  the  crews  of  the  two  vessels  were  very  soon 
exchanging  shots  in  lively  fashion  from  behind 
their  respective  barricades  of  cotton  bales.  Appar- 
ently the  Confederates  had  not  discovered  the 
"  Otter"  coming  up  when  they  opened  fire  on  our 
prize ;  otherwise  they  might  have  adopted  different 
tactics. 

The  boat  flotilla  was  a  half  a  mile  down  stream 
when  all  this  took  place,  and  the  "Otter"  a  good 
mile  farther,   just  making  her  way  into  the  deep 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  215 

water  of  the  river  inside  the  bar.  There  was  a  dis- 
position on  the  part  of  all  hands  in  the  boats  to  go 
back  and  help  defend  the  prize,  but,  considering 
the  situation,  there  was  no  need.  Moreover  it  was 
evident  that  the  "horse  marines"  were  able  to 
defend  themselves  against  any  possible  boat  attack. 
So  we  pulled  away  as  fast  as  possible  to  meet  the 
"  Otter,"  which  was  feeling  her  way  up  the  channel. 

In  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  we  were  alongside,  and 
in  a  trice  the  situation  of  affairs  as  between  the  two 
schooners  was  explained.  This,  as  may  be  readily 
imagined,  had  been  something  of  a  puzzle  to 
Captain  Ross.  At  first  he  supposed  that  the 
schooner  coming  down  so  rapidly  under  sail  was 
chasing  the  boat  flotilla,  and  he  was  making  ready 
to  fire  upon  her  at  long  range.  But  when  the 
other  schooner  opened  fire  with  small  arms  he  saw 
that  his  understanding  of  the  situation  was  at  fault. 
All  was  clear  enough  now  and  in  three  seconds  a 
big  rifled  shell  went  hurtling  over  the  belligerent 
schooner  and  burst  in  the  edge  of  the  woods  on 
the  shore  beyond  her. 

This  was  accepted  as  a  hint  to  keep  quiet,  and 
there  was  a  notable  falling  off  in  the  rapidity  of 
the  rifle  practise  that  had  until  now  been  directed 
against  our  prize.  Another  shot,  better  directed, 
now  that  the  range  had  been  obtained,  struck  one 


2i6  JACK  Benson's  log. 

of  the  cotton  bales  along  the  rail,  penetrated  to  its 
heart  before  exploding,  and  filled  the  air  with 
fluffy  white  fragments,  which  flew  about  the  masts 
and  rigging  in  a  cloud,  and  settled  like  snow  upon 
the  surface  of  the  water. 

This  settled  the  question,  and  we  saw  that  the 
crew  was  preparing  hastily  to  abandon  the  vessel. 
Why  they  should  do  this  after  so  short  a  defense 
was  a  mystery  at  the  time,  and  it  was  not  until 
after  several  hours  that  it  was  cleared  up.  Three 
big,  flat  fishing  boats  had  been  towing  astern,  and 
these  were  quickly  hauled  alongside.  Into  them 
the  gray-clad  riflemen  tumbled,  without  standing 
upon  the  order  of  their  going,  and  pulled  off  for 
shore  with  all  possible  haste.  A  few  rifle  shots 
were  sent  after  them,  but  to  hit  a  small  boat  at 
long  range  is  the  rarest  luck,  and  they  quickly 
drew  into  the  mouth  of  a  sheltered  creek  and  dis- 
appeared, glad  enough,  probably,  to  get  away  from 
the  well-directed  shots  that  had  been  howling  about 
their  heads. 

The  "Otter"  now  ran  over  as  near  the  prize 
schooner  as  she  could  safely  go,  and,  taking  a  haw- 
ser, succeeded  in  pulling  her  off  into  deep  water. 
Thanks  to  the  eflicient  protection  afforded  by  the 
cotton  bales,  the  lieutenant  was  the  onl}^  man  se- 
riously hurt.      He  was  transferred  with  the  rest  of 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  2l7 

the  wounded  to  the  "  Otter,"  where  he  could  have 
better  care,  and  the  prize  proceeded  under  sail  to 
cross  the  bar  and  anchor  outside  awaiting  our 
arrival  and  further  orders. 

This  done,  we  turned  our  attention  to  schooner 
No.  3,  which  lay  silent  and  apparently  deserted. 
Judging  from  our  previous  experience  with  the 
others,  this  vessel  also  was  probably  well  fitted  out 
with  explosive  apparatus  and  ready  to  be  blown 
up.  At  all  events,  it  would  have  been  the  height 
of  folly  to  venture  aboard  of  her  or  even  within  a 
pretty  liberal  danger  line.  The  "Otter"  was 
therefore  anchored  bv  the  stern  at  a  respectful  dis- 
tance, so  that  she  could  run  for  the  bar  in  case  of 
need  without  waiting  to  turn  round. 

A  sharp  watch  was  kept  on  the  schooner,  but 
no  sign  of  life  could  be  detected,  except  a  large, 
brindled,  3'ellow  cat,  who,  after  things  had  quieted 
down,  made  her  appearance  and  walked  sedately 
all  round  the  rail  fore  and  aft.  We  had  recently 
lost  our  own  cat  overboard,  and  in  the  opinion  of 
the  forecastle  such  a  misfortune  is  very  bad  luck. 
There  was  a  strong  desire  on  the  part  of  Jacky  to 
secure  this  secesh  cat  as  a  substitute  for  our  loved 
and  lost  tabby, 

"No,  boys,"  Captain  Ross  said  to  the  deputa- 
tion that  waited  upon  him,  volunteering  to  go  and 


2i8  JACK  Benson's  log. 

gather;  "she  isn't  worth  risking  your  lives  for. 
There's  something  wrong  about  that  schooner. 
We  will  wait  awhile,  anyhow." 

So  the  forenoon  wore  away,  the  tide  ebbed, 
slackened,  turned  flood  again,  and  we  had  to  shift 
the  anchor  forward  so  as  to  keep  headed  down 
stream.  The  wounded  were  cared  for  and  made 
as  comfortable  as  possible,  and  poor  Lieutenant 
Casey's  body  was  sewed  up  in  canvas  preparatory 
to  burial  at  sea  as  soon  as  we  had  made  an  offing. 
This  was  in  accordance  with  the  written  request 
found  among  his  papers,  which  bore  date  of  the 
day  before,  and,  after  giving  certain  directions 
concerning  his  effects,  concluded  with  these  words, 
which  I  copied  out  for  the  captain  and  privately 
for  my  own  log  book  at  the  same  time  :  — 

"Bury  me  at  sea,  if  anything  happens  to  me 
to-night ;  I  don't  think  I  could  rest  easy  in  Caro- 
lina soil,  sacred  though  it  is  said  to  be." 

His  wishes  were  respected,  for,  in  fact,  we  went 
to  sea  that  same  afternoon,  and  all  hands  were 
mustered  on  deck  to  attend  the  solemn  burial  ser- 
vice just  before  the  sun  went  down.  The  cus- 
tomary three  volleys  were  fired  as  the  heavily 
shotted  canvas  plunged  overboard,  and  that  was 
the  last  of  the  most  popular  officer  on  the  ship. 

Soldiers  and  sailors  are  very  much  alike  at  such 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  219 

times  ;  they  will  do  anything  for  a  comrade  or  a 
shipmate  while  he  is  alive,  but  when  he  is  gone, 
and  the  last  words  have  been  said,  and  the  last 
volleys  fired,  it  is  to  a  quick  and  merry  tune  that 
they  march  back  to  quarters  if  on  shore,  and  they 
are  very  apt  to  make  extra  efforts  to  pass  a  jolly 
evening  if  they  are  at  sea.  Casey  was  a  gallant 
and  able  young  officer,  and  the  idea  that  such  a 
life  as  his  had  been  snuffed  out  by  the  hand  of  a 
desperado  like  Hawkson  was  hard  for  most  of  us 
to  endure  —  especially  hard  when  we  knew  that 
our  own  surgeon  was  doing  all  that  lay  in  his 
power  to  save  this  same  desperado's  life. 

But  this  is  a  digression.  I  must  return  to 
schooner  No.  3,  which  I  left  with  a  big  yellow 
cat  standing  her  watch  on  deck  in  dignified  soli- 
tude. Now,  I  do  not  in  the  least  expect  anybody 
to  believe  what  I  am  going  to  relate,  but  I  will 
leave  it  to  any  of  the  "  Otter's"  crew  to  expose  me 
if  I  deviate  in  the  slightest  degree  from  the  literal 
truth. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  our  watch  on  deck  was  in- 
tently interested  in  pussy's  operations  on  board  the 
schooner.  About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  she 
was  sitting  on  the  rail  basking  in  the  sun,  blinking 
her  big  yellow  eyes  as  could  be  seen  through  a 
glass,    and  returning   the  combined    gaze    of   our 


220  JACK    BENSON S    LOG. 

crew  with  interest.  A  landsman  can  hardly  un- 
derstand the  superstitious  awe  with  which  a  com- 
pany of  sailor  men  will  become  interested  in  such 
a  seemingly  insignificant  incident  as  this.  But  a 
great  many  of  the  men  were  really  upset  by  it. 
They  could  not  bear  to  go  below  while  pussy  was 
in  sight.  If  they  tried  to  do  something  that  took 
them  away  from  the  post  of  observation  they  would 
come  nervously  back  from  time  to  time  to  steal  a 
look  across  the  water  at  their  fetish. 

It  was  near  the  full  of  the  tide  when  some  one 
cried  out,  "Look,  there's  something  to  pay  over 
there."  Pussy  had  suddenly  arched  her  back  and 
increased  the  size  of  her  tail  to  enormous  propor- 
tions. While  we  looked  she  emitted  a  long-drawn 
wail,  such  as  a  cat  only  executes  when  in  great 
agony  of  mind.  Then  she  fled  forward  like  a 
yellow  streak ;  leaping  over  cotton  bales  and  other 
obstacles,  she  flashed  out  on  the  bowsprit,  over  the 
furled  headsails,  and  when  she  reached  the  jibboom 
shot  out  into  the  air  with  another  blood-curdling 
screech,  and  described  a  long  curve  down  to  the 
water,  beneath  which  she  disappeared.  Every 
sailor  man  in  sight  winced  at  the  spectacle,  and 
stood  ready  to  jump  overboard  and  go  to  the 
rescue  if  an  opportunity  occurred. 

"Go  and  pick    her   up,  if   you  like,"  said  the 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  221 

officer  of  the  deck,  "but  keep  well  clear  of  the 
schooner,"  and  never  was  one  of  the  "Otter's" 
boats  more  quickly  manned  and  away  than  was 
the  third  cutter  on  this  occasion. 

Cats  hate  the  water,  as  everybody  knows,  and 
they  will  not  take  to  it  except  under  great  stress  of 
fear  or  necessity,  but  they  are  not  bad  swimmers 
when  driven  to  extremity.  Pussy  had  probably 
recognized  through  that  mystical  sense  that  is 
known  to  science  as  "  telepathy  "  the  fact  that  we 
were  friendly  to  her  on  board  the  ' '  Otter  "  ;  at  all 
events,  she  was  making  the  best  time  that  she 
could  to  meet  the  cutter  that  was  going  to  meet 
her,  when,  without  the  slightest  warning,  schooner 
No.  3  burst  asunder  amidships,  her  spars  shooting 
aloft,  and  her  deckload  of  cotton  bales  turning 
somersaults  in  the  air  in  every  direction. 

The  cutter  was  pretty  well  within  the  danger 
limit,  and  the  "Otter"  herself  not  far  beyond  it, 
but,  luckily,  no  harm  was  done  by  the  falling  frag- 
ments, and  when  the  hurly-burly  was  over,  and 
the  great  cloud  of  white  smoke  was  rolling  off  to 
seaward  before  the  wind,  the  cutter  took  to  its  oars, 
and  quickly  discovered  puss  seated  on  a  floating 
bale,  ver}^  wet  and  bedraggled,  but  doing  her  best 
to  get  herself  dry  and  presentable,  and  ready  to 
start  her  purring   apparatus  the  instant  she  found 


222  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

herself  in  friendly  arms  and  being  rubbed  dry 
with  half  the  red  bandanas  in  the  cutter's  crew. 

Schooner  No.  3,  then,  was  not  the  comparatively 
innocent  blockade  runner  that  we  had  supposed 
her  to  be  ;  but  was  in  reality  a  powder-boat  just 
over  from  Bermuda,  and  consigned,  no  doubt,  to  the 
ordnance  department  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 
We  could  readily  understand  now  why  it  was  that 
her  crew  had  deserted  her  with  such  unanimous 
alacrity  as  soon  as  our  shells  began  to  burst  on 
board.  How  the  explosion  was  timed  we  never 
found  out,  but  undoubtedly  a  slow  match  had  been 
set  intended  to  burn  several  hours,  and  perhaps 
some  kind  of  a  trap  was  set  besides  to  hasten 
matters  in  case  the  vessel  was  boarded,  and  thus 
prove  fatal  to  a  goodly  number  of  the  Yankee  in- 
vaders. 

Into  the  question  of  pussy's  discovery  of  the 
approaching  explosion  I  shall  not  enter,  but  will 
leave  that  for  those  who  study  into  the  mysteries 
of  beasts  and  birds.  As  nothing  remained  to 
detain  us  in  theSantee,  we  got  our  anchor  an  hour 
after  the  explosion,  and,  having  performed  the  last 
rites  at  sea  for  Lieutenant  Casey,  went  back  to  our 
old  anchorage  in  Georgetown  Bay,  first  putting  a 
regular  crew  on  board  the  prize  and  starting  her  off 
to  Boston  for  adjudication. 


THE    SLAVE    DRIVER    OF    SANTEE.  223 

One  more  incident  about  pussy,  who  was  by 
common  consent  named  "  Santee  "  as  soon  as  she 
came  aboard.  After  she  had  been  well  dried  by 
the  galley  fire,  she  made  an  exhaustive  inspection 
of  the  spar  deck  from  stem  to  stern,  anxiously 
watched  the  while  by  every  Jacky  who  had  been 
at  sea  long  enough  to  know  how  much  depended 
upon  her  conduct.  We  had  gotten  underway  by 
this  time  and,  after  making  the  circuit  of  the  deck, 
everybody  standing  respectfully  aside  so  that  her 
meditations  should  not  be  disturbed,  Santee  erected 
her  tail  to  its  full  height,  walked  purring  to  the 
man  at  the  wheel,  and  rubbed  herself  affectionately 
against  his  legs. 

Could  she  possibly  have  chosen  any  more  digni- 
fied or  comprehensive  way  of  showing  her  approval 
of  the  ship  and  its  company  ?  She  could  not  pos- 
sibly attempt  to  rub  herself  against  the  legs  of 
some  two  hundred  men  ;  therefore  she  selected  the 
one  whom  her  experience  as  a  sea-going  cat  told 
her  was  the  most  important  person  on  board. 
Jacky  was  nearly  beside  himself  with  delight,  and 
predicted  all  sorts  of  good  luck  for  the  "  Otter." 

Santee  did  not  find  her  way  below  decks  until 
after  dark,  and  then,  by  some  mysterious  instinct, 
went  almost  directl_y  to  the  sick  bav  where  Hawk- 
son  lay  dying  from  his  several  wounds.     The  sur- 


224  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

geon's  steward  on  duty  outside  the  open  door  was 
awakened  from  a  doze  by-  hearing  a  terrified  yell 
from  his  patient,  and  sprang  up  to  find  Santee  at 
the  foot  of  the  bunk,  her  eyes  flaming  and  every 
individual  hair  erect.  Hawkson  had  shrunk  to- 
gether, drawing  himself  up  at  the  head  of  the  bunk 
with  a  supreme  effort  of  strength,  his  eyes  dilating 
with  horror,  and  terror  expressed  by  every  linea- 
ment of  his  countenance. 

"Take  it  away,  take  it  away,"  he  cried;  "it's 
that  same  infernal  cat." 

The  steward  seized  Santee  and  put  her  on  deck, 
but  when  he  returned  to  his  post  the  slave-driver 
had  passed  to  his  last  account.  We  sent  his  body 
ashore  at  Pilot  Town,  and  buried  it  decently  near 
the  old  negro  whom  he  had  so  cruelly  hanged 
only  a  few  days  before.  If  it  was  disinterred  and 
given  a  military  funeral  after  our  departure  it  was 
none  of  our  concern.  We  had  treated  him  with 
more  consideration  than  he  deserved,  for  he  had 
repeatedly  violated  all  laws  of  civilized  warfare. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"  COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !  " 

AN  uneventful  period  of  longshore  duty  fol- 
lowed the  Santee  expedition,  interrupted 
about  the  middle  of  October,  when  the  supply 
steamer  brought  us  with  our  infrequent  mail  an 
order  to  join  the  blockading  squadron  off  Charles- 
ton. 

On  arriving  there,  we  learned  that  the  secret 
agents  of  the  government  had  reported  two  English 
steamers  with  full  cargoes  of  cotton  at  the  wharves 
ready  for  sea,  and  intending  to  make  the  attempt 
to  run  out  together,  if  possible,  on  the  same  night, 
so  as  to  confuse  the  blockading  squadron  and  thus 
to  favor  each  other's  chances  for  escape. 

Blockade  running  b}'  steam,  and  its  natural  pre- 
ventive blockading  by  steam,  were  unknown  quan- 
tities in  1861.  Both  sides  had  to  learn  how. 
When  Federal  gunboats  were  few  in  number  it 
was  easy  to  evade  them.  But  even  afterwards, 
when  a  double  cordon  of  gunboats  surrounded  the 
entrances  to  the  principal  Confederate  ports,  block- 


226  JACK  Benson's  log. 

ade  runners  managed  to  slip  through  on  dark 
nights,  and  would  doubtless  have  continued  to  do 
so,  no  matter  how  much  the  fleet  might  have  been 
increased. 

There  were  only  three  vessels  off  Charleston  at 
this  time,  the  "Otter"  making  the  fourth,  and, 
while  we  could  easily  close  the  direct  approaches 
during  the  hours  of  daylight,  dark  nights  afforded 
abundant  opportunity  for  entrance  or  escape. 
Especially  was  this  the  case  in  winter,  when 
easterly  storms  made  it  necessary  for  the  squad- 
ron to  seek  an  offing  for  safety,  and  here  was  the 
blockade  runner's  opportunity.  If  he  could  once 
get  outside  of  the  harbor  after  the  sea  had  mod- 
erated, and  before  the  blockading  vessels  had  re- 
turned to  their  stations,  he  could  probably  show 
his  heels  to  anything  that  he  was  likely  to  meet. 

By  daylight,  even,  it  was  not  impossible  for 
blockade  runners  of  moderate  draught  to  make 
their  escape,  for,  besides  the  regular  ship  channels 
affording  direct  entrance  to  Charleston  Harbor, 
there  are  numerous  creeks  and  passages  among 
tlie  marshy  islands  to  the  north  and  south,  through 
which  small  vessels  can  easily  work  their  way  at 
high  tide.  The  typical  blockade  runner  was  not 
constructed  with  a  view  to  any  extraordinary  de- 
gree of  sea-worthiness  ;  if  she  could  be  made  fast 


"COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !  "  227 

enough  to  run  away  from  the  average  gunboat 
with  a  load  of  cotton,  she  would  pay  for  herself 
several  times  over  on  one  trip. 

There  is  no  complete  record  of  all  the  success- 
ful trips  made  by  blockade  runners,  but  between 
the  outbreak  of  hostilities  and  November,  1865, 
nearly  one  thousand  vessels  of  all  kinds,  large  and 
small,  were  captured  by  the  navy,  and  of  these 
something  like  seventy  were  steamers,  mostly  with 
valuable  cargoes,  either  of  war  material,  if  inward 
bound,  or  of  cotton,  if  outward  bound.  On  one 
side  the  possibility  of  enormous  commercial  profits 
prompted  to  daring  enterprise,  and  on  the  other, 
the  prospect  of  liberal  prize  money  was  a  powerful 
incentive  to  vigilance  and  effort. 

With  only  four  vessels  to  guard  such  a  harbor 
as  Charleston,  the  chances  were  largely  in  favor 
of  the  blockade  runners,  but  we  did  the  best  we 
could  with  the  means  at  our  disposal.  ^  When  the 
weather  promised  to  be  moderate  the  custom  was 
for  each  vessel  to  lie  off  the  entrance  of  one  of  the 
channels  and  send  a  boat  to  patrol  in  the  narrower 
waters  inside  the  bar,  showing  a  signal  in  case  a 
blockader  was  discovered  making  her  way  out. 

According  to  my  plan  of  trying  to  see  all  sorts 
of  service  afloat,  I  succeeded,  after  several  rebuffs, 
in  getting  permission  to  go  on  one  of  these  patrol 


228  JACK    UENSON's    LOG. 

boats,  where  boys  were  not  generally  wanted.  But 
by  promising  to  make  myself  useful  I  got  permis- 
sion to  go  at  last. 

it  was  a  very  dark  night,  with  a  light  breeze 
blowing  in  from  sea,  so  that  noises  were  carried  in- 
land rather  than  seaward.  It  was,  indeed,  an  almost 
ideal  night  for  blockade  runners  to  try  their  chances 
at  slipping  out.  Four  ships'  boats  do  not  make 
much  of  a  show  on  a  dark  night  in  the  wide  harbor 
mouth,  so  we  did  not  attempt  to  keep  up  regular 
communication,  but  there  was  a  general  under- 
standincr  that  each  boat  should  watch  its  own 
channel,  and  let  the  others  take  care  of  themselves. 
Now,  there  are,  or  were  then,  four  channel  entrances 
to  the  harbor  practicable  for  blockade  runners ; 
two  of  these, —  the  North  Channel  and  the  Swash, 
—  were  practically  one,  being  separated  merely  by 
small,  island-like  shoals. 

At  this  double  channel  we  were  stationed,  in 
company  with  a  boat  from  one  of  our  consorts. 
The  night  wore  silently  on,  the  men  now  and  then 
pulling  a  few  strokes  to  keep  the  boat  from  drifting 
into  the  breakers,  but  for  the  most  part  resting  on 
their  oars  and  keeping  absolute  silence. 

The  regulation  lights  of  the  coast  had  long  since 
been  extinguished,  but  the  Confederates  kept  cer- 
tain range  lights  burning  for  the  benefit  of  chance 


''COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !  "  229 

visitors,  it  being  well  understood  among  them  what 
the  bearings  were  so  that  a  pilot  familiar  with 
the  coast  could  find  his  way  in  on  the  darkest 
night. 

These  were  the  only  signs  of  life  to  be  seen,  for 
on  the  blockading  squadron  outside  none  of  the 
usual  lights  were  shown,  and  all  those  that  were 
absolutely  necessary  below  decks  were  carefully 
screened. 

It  was  pretty  well  past  midnight  when  I  awoke 
from  a  chilly  doze  into  which  I  had  dropped  in  my 
place  next  to  the  bow  oar.  Everybody  was  on  the 
alert,  the  men  grasping  their  oars  and  ready  for 
instant  action. 

"  What's  up?  "  I  whispered  to  the  man  next  me. 

"  Listen,"  was  his  only  reply. 

Certainly  something  was  astir  somewhere  up  the 
harbor,  and,  listening  intently,  I  presently  recog- 
nized it  as  the  beat  of  slowly  revolving  paddle 
wheels.  Nearly  all  the  blockade  runners  were  side 
wheelers  ;  the  screw  propeller  had  not  then  come 
into  such  universal  use  as  at  present.  It  was  the 
policy  of  out-going  steamers  in  still  weather  to  run 
slowly,  so  as  to  make  as  little  noise  as  possible  until 
they  were  actually  discovered ;  then  they  would  go 
ahead  full  speed  and  trust  to  luck  and  skill  to  make 
good  their  escape.     These  paddles  that  we  heard 


230  JACK    BENSON S    LOG. 

could  not  be  very  far  distant,  for  the  wind  was 
against  our  hearing  anything  from  that  direction  ; 
therefore  ever}"  eye  was  strained  to  discover  the  first 
signs  of  the  approaching  vessel. 

Orders  in  regard  to  boat's  signals  varied  from 
time  to  time  as  experience  suggested  change,  but 
on  this  occasion  we  were  provided  with  the  ordinary 
blue  lights  used  in  sea  service,  which  were  to  be 
displayed  as  soon  as  it  was  certain  that  a  steamer 
was  coming  out.  It  would  not  do  to  show  the 
light  too  soon,  for  the  approaching  vessel  might  be 
an  armed  steam  patrol  boat  of  the  enemy,  too 
strong  for  us  to  fight  and  too  fleet  for  us  to  escape, 
so  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  keep  still  and 
await  developments. 

Some  one  like  Pilot  Joe  would  have  been  very 
welcome  to  our  boat  just  at  this  time  ;  he  could  prob- 
ably have  seen  what  was  coming,'  but,  strain  our 
eyes  as  we  would,  nothing  could  as  yet  be  discov- 
ered ;  and  still  the  steady  beat  of  paddles  became 
more  and  more  distinct,  till  with  the  intensity  of  lis- 
tening the  senses  became  confused  and  one  could  not 
be  at  all  sure  from  which  direction  the  sound  came. 

But  we  had  not  long  to  wait,  for  presently  there 
was  a  flash  of  light  from  the  other  side  of  the 
channel,  where  our  companion  boat  was  supposed 
to  be  stationed.     She   had  evidentlv  discovered  a 


"COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !  "  23 1 

blockade  runner,  and  let  off  her  signal.  Our  own 
coxswain  was  in  the  act  of  following  suit,  without 
waiting  for  further  evidence,  when  one  of  the 
waist  oarsmen  sung  out,  "  Give  way  all,  quick! 
Here  she  is  right  on  top  of  us." 

At  the  same  instant  we  heard  a  jingle  of  bells 
rung  somewhere  in  the  darkness,  and  an  instantane- 
ous churning  of  paddle  wheels  beating  the  water 
furiously  showed  that  the  signal  had  been  given 
to  go  ahead  at  full  speed.  Another  moment,  and 
from  my  place  forward  I  saw  the  lift  of  a  black 
bow  almost  over  my  head,  and  then,  before  a 
stroke  could  be  pulled,  there  came  a  mighty  crash, 
as  a  sharp  cutwater  struck  us  amidships,  cutting 
the  boat  clean  in  two,  and  tossing  the  crew  off, 
part  to  one  side  and  part  to  the  other.  The  frag- 
ments of  the  boat,  borne  down  by  the  rushing  mass 
of  the  big  ship  went  under,  and  every  man  with 
them.  Whether  any  of  them  escaped  or  not, 
beside  myself,  I  knew  not  for  a  long  time. 

I  was  a  good  swimmer  and  thoroughly  at  home 
in  the  water,  and  the  first  instinctive  thought  that 
flashed  through  my  brain  was,  "  I  must  dodge  the 
paddle  wheel ! "  and,  turning  head  downward,  I 
swam  toward  the  bottom  for  all  I  was  worth.  A 
chance  kick  against  the  ship's  side  as  she  swept  by 
helped  me  a  little,  and  I  was  presently  aware  of  a 


232  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

seething  and  roaring  in  my  ears  that  led  me  to  think 
the  danger  was  past.  At  all  events,  my  supply  of 
breath  was  nearly  gone,  and  I  rose  to  the  surface, 
half  strangled,  throwing  out  my  arms  wildly, 
probably  with  the  insane  instinct  of  a  drowning 
man  to  catch  at  a  straw. 

I  saw  nothing,  knew  nothing,  until  I  found 
myself  hanging  on  grimly  by  a  rope  that  had 
fallen  within  reach,  and  upon  which  my  grasp  had 
desperately  tightened.  With  the  instinct  of  a 
sailor,  I  had  climbed  a  little  way  till  nearly  clear  of 
the  water,  which  was  rushing  past  at  great  rate 
just  below  me  and  swashing  against  my  legs 
occasionally  as  the  ship  rolled. 

This  was  the  first  thing  that  I  noticed  as  my 
senses  gathered  themselves  together  after  a  few 
seconds  of  confusion  under  water.  The  rope 
hung  slack,  being,  in  fact,  one  of  the  lighter  moor- 
ing lines  that  had  not  yet  been  hauled  inboard, 
and  by  taking  a  turn  around  it  with  my  leg,  and 
another  with  one  of  my  arms,  I  was  enabled  to 
hang  suspended  without  making  much  effort,  while 
I  caught  my  breath  and  blew  the  salt  water  out  of 
my  nose  and  mouth.  In  a  few  seconds  life  and 
consciousness  began  to  assert  themselves,  and  I 
knew  that  I  must  make  a  mighty  effort  to  climb  on 
deck  before  my  strength  left  me  altogether. 


"COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !   "  233 

Blockade  runners  had  very  little  free-board,  as  a 
rule,  and  this  one  was  no  exception  ;  that  is  to  say, 
it  was  only  a  few  feet  from  the  water  line  to  the 
deck,  and  by  summoning  all  my  strength  and 
resolution  I  went  up  hand  over  fist  with  the  as- 
sistance of  my  feet  against  the  ship's  side.  This 
is  a  very  easy  thing  for  a  sailor  to  do  when  he  is 
in  his  right  mind  and  with  dry  clothing,  but  it  is 
by  no  means  so  easy  when  one  has  just  escaped 
death  by  drowning  and  is  wet  and  exhausted. 

I  finally  reached  the  rail  and  tumbled  over,  not 
caring  where  I  fell,  so  long  as  it  was  not  over- 
board. 

By  good  luck  I  came  down  on  a  cotton  bale,  for 
she  carried  a  deckload,  and  lay  still,  panting  and 
nearly  in  a  swoon. 

But  during  these  few  terrible  moments  the 
"Palma"  —  for  that  was  her  name  —  had  been 
speeding  seaward,  and  was  now  in  the  swing  of 
the  breakers  on  the  bar.  I  took  no  heed  of  my 
surroundings,  and  may  have  been  actually  uncon- 
scious for  a  little,  but  it  could  not  have  been  long, 
for  I  was  brought  to  myself  by  the  stunning  report 
of  a  heavy  gun  close  at  hand  and  the  whoop  of  a 
shell  that  seemed  to  pass  close  overhead.  This 
reacted  upon  me  like  an  electric  shock ;  my  heart 
began  to  beat,  the  blood  started  through  my  veins 


234  JACK    BENSON S    LOG. 

again,  and  I  felt  the  warmth  of  returning  life  ting- 
ling in  my  limbs^ 

Bang  !  Whizz  !  Another  shell !  And  this  brought 
me  up.  By  kneeling  on  my  cotton  bale  I  could 
look  over  the  rail  and  partly  see  what  was  gomg 
on ;  judging  from  the  flash  of  the  guns,  I  knew 
that  all  four  of  the  blockading  squadron  were  in 
it ;  but  evidently  there  were  two  points  of  attack, 
—  that  is  to  say,  two  escaping  steamers. 

Two  of  the  gunboats,  which  I  judged  to  be  the 
"  Otter"  and  the  "  Monticello,"  were  tiring  at  us, 
serving  their  pivot  rifles  with  great  rapidity  and,  it 
seemed  to  me,  with  a  most  uncomfortable  accuracy 
of  practise. 

It  makes  a  wonderful  difference  whether  one  is 
behind  a  gun  or  in  front  of  it,  in  estimating  the 
skill  of  the  gunner.  Hitherto,  in  my  limited  ex- 
perience of  naval  actions,  I  had  been  safe  behind 
the  breach  of  the  best  guns.  Now  the  case  was 
different.  I  was  on  an  unarmed  blockade  runner, 
fleeing  for  her  life,  as  it  were,  out  into  the  black- 
ness of  the  open  sea,  and  my  old  shipmates  were 
pounding  away  at  me  with  six-inch  projectiles,  as 
though  my  life  was  not  of  the  slightest  conse- 
quence. 

Now  and  then  a  shell  would  crash  through  the 
woodwork  somewhere,  but  tlie  solid  mass  of  cotton 


"COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !  "  235 

that  well-nigh  filled  the  entire  ship  protected  its  vul- 
nerable points,  and  the  machinery  was  uninjured. 
It  was  very  soon  evident  that  we  were  distancing 
our  pursuers,  and  from  the  manner  in  which  the 
other  gunboats  were  firing  I  judged  that  our  sister 
fugitive  was  likewise  making  good  her  escape. 

I  had  tumbled  on  board  at  a  point  pretty  well  aft, 
and  at  a  time  when  the  eyes  of  all  on  deck  were 
naturally  directed  forward  toward  the  blockading 
fleet.  All  was  dark  except  the  binnacle  light,  and 
that  was  carefully  screened.  No  one  had  seen 
me.  But  now,  as  we  came  abreast  of  the  fleet, 
men  came  tramping  aft,  and  I  thought  it  best  to 
lay  low. 

Knowing  from  experience  that  I  should  be 
pretty  sure  to  find  a  warm  place  near  the  ma- 
chinery, I  jumped  down  from  my  cotton  bale, 
without  any  attempt  at  concealment,  and  walked 
forward  to  where  I  could  see  the  black  column  of 
smoke  made  partially  visible  by  an  intermingled 
cloud  of  escaping  sparks  as  it  poured  out  from  the 
big  smoke-stack.  One  figure  was  not  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  another  in  the  darkness,  and, 
though  I  brushed  against  some  of  my  new  ship- 
mates in  passing,  I  was  not  molested,  and  soon 
reached  the  clear  space  about  the  engines  amid- 
ship. 


236  -  JACK  Benson's  log. 

Feeling  about  in  the  darkness,  I  presently  dis- 
covered a  sheltered  nook  behind  a  boxlike  chest, 
and  in  the  lee  of  some  sort  of  a  steam  box  that 
afforded  a  comfortable  degree  of  heat,  where  I 
should  be  in  no  danger  of  discovery  before  day- 
light, except  by  accident.  The  temperature  was 
a  good  deal  like  that  of  a  Turkish  bath,  but  I 
knew  it  was  best  for  me  to  get  dry  and  keep 
warm  during  the  process,  so  I  disposed  myself  as 
comfortably  as  I  could,  and  listened  to  the  shots 
and  to  the  exploding  shells  as  they  grew  fainter 
and  fainter  in  the  distance,  till  at  last  they  ceased 
altogether,  and  at  about  the  same  time,  I  suppose, 
I  dropped  off  into  an  exceedingly  sound  sleep. 

It  was  broad  daylight  when  I  awoke ;  the  sun 
was  streaming  across  the  deck,  with  its  rows  of 
cotton  bales,  and  the  dark  shadows  of  spars  and 
rigging  were  swaying  to  and  fro  on  the  deck  as 
the  ship  rolled  in  the  trough  of  the  sea.  I  could 
tell  from  the  motion  that  we  were  going  at  a  high 
rate  of  speed ;  the  engines  were  throbbing  away  as 
hard  as  ever. 

For  awhile  I  could  not  remember  what  had 
happened,  but  when  I  put  up  my  hand  to  feel  for 
my  blue  cloth  sailor  cap  the  whole  thing  suddenly 
came  back,  and  I  remembered  that  my  cap  must 
have  gone   when  I  was  under  water,  and  here  I 


"  COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !  "  237 

was  on  a  swift  blockade  runner,  headed,  no  doubt, 
either  for  Bermuda  or  Nassau.  Was  I  a  deserter, 
or  a  prisoner  of  war,  or  what?  My  knowledge  of 
maritime  law  was  too  limited  to  enable  me  to  decide 
the  question  offhand. 

The  night  before  I  had  been  too  much  shaken  to 
give  any  thought  to  the  situation,  but  now  I  was 
dry  and  warm,  and  I  should  presently  be  hungry, 
and,  although  not  yet  discovered,  it  was  necessary 
to  decide  at  once  upon  some  course  of  action.  So, 
sitting  up  in  the  little  cubby-hole,  I  made  shift  to 
wash  my  hands  and  face,  wetting  the  corner  of 
my  bandanna  handkerchief  in  some  hot  water  that 
dripped  from  a  steam  joint  near  by.  Then  I 
brushed  the  white  salt  from  my  dark  blue  jacket 
and  trousers,  adjusted  my  knife-lanyard  as  well  as  I 
could,  crawled  out  of  my  hiding-place,  and  stood  up. 

Not  a  soul  was  in  sight,  but  the  sun  was  warm, 
and  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  blue  white-crested  waves 
over  the  rail  as  the  vessel  rolled.  I  stamped  and 
kicked  the  cramps  out  of  my  legs,  still  remaining 
by  the  smoke-stack,  for  I  cared  not  in  the  least 
now  how  soon  I  was  discovered.  Two  men  came 
along  presently  on  their  way  aft  and  stared  rather 
sharply  as  they  went  by,  but  they  said  nothing.  I 
suppose  they  were  stokers  or  deck-hands  and  took 
me,  perhaps,  for  one  of  the  passengers  whom  they 


238  JACK  Benson's  log. 

had  not  seen  before.  Blockade  runners  often 
carried  passengers  back  and  forth  between  ports, 
so  that  my  presence  on  board  was  easily  to  be  ex- 
plained on  this  supposition. 

On  completing  my  toilet  to  reasonable  satisfac- 
tion, I  sauntered  forward,  bareheaded,  with  my 
hands  in  the  pockets  of  my  reefer,  to  the  forward 
windlass,  where  the  officer  on  the  bridge  could  see 
me,  and  I  him.  Facing  about,  I  looked  up,  but  he 
was  gazing  intently  through  his  marine  glass  at 
something  on  the  horizon.  I  did  not  know  at  the 
time,  but  found  out  afterward,  that  he  was  the 
captain,  and  an  officer  in  the  British  navy,  who 
had  been  granted  leave  of  absence  to  pursue  tem- 
porarily the  lucrative  profession  of  blockade  run- 
ning. Presently  he  laid  the  glass  down  in  its 
canvas  pocket  and  turned  in  my  direction.  As 
soon  as  I  caught  his  eye  I  saluted,  navy  fashion, 
and  reported,  "  Come  aboard,  sir." 

He  was  a  stout,  florid  Englishman,  wearing  a  navy 
tunic  with  gold  lace  on  the  sleeves,  very  likely 
one  of  his  old  service  uniforms.  He  looked  hard  at 
me,  rubbed  his  eyes,  looked  again,  and  leaned  his 
elbows  on  the  bridge  rail  for  a  still  better  look. 

"  Yes,  I  see  you  have,"  he  said  at  length  ;  "  but 
who  are  you  ?  " 

"If   you    please,    sir,    may   I   come   up    on    the 


|\,^rJi^C    Vv^VS-  3'--' 


COME   ABOAR_,   Sir 


"COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !   "  239 

bridge?  I'd  like  to  speak  to  you  in  private."  For 
by  this  time  several  of  the  forecastle  hands  were 
standing  around. 

"  No,  I'll  come  down  to  you.  Mr.  Sawyer,  it's 
your  watch,  I  believe  ;  you  may  take  charge." 

"Now,  then,  youngster,  what  is  it?"  he  said, 
when  we  had  reached  a  place  out  of  earshot  from 
the  others. 

"  My  name  is  John  Benson,  sir,"  I  said.  "  I  am 
a  naval  apprentice  of  the  United  States  gunboat 
'  Otter,'  and  I  wish  to  surrender  as  a  prisoner  of 
war." 

I  knew  very  well  that  there  were  no  naval 
apprentices  in  the  service  at  that  time,  but  it 
sounded  better  than  "  first-class  boy," 

"  Bless  my  soul !      How  did  you  get  aboard?  " 

I  told  him  briefly  of  the  disaster  to  the  patrol  boat 
on  the  preceding  night  and  of  my  miraculous 
escape.     He  looked  utterly  incredulous. 

"  Show  me  that  line,"  he  said,  after  reflecting  a 
moment.  So  I  led  him  aft  to  the  rail  where  I  had 
climbed  over,  and  there,  sure  enough,  was  the  rope 
that  had  saved  me. 

"Well,  me  lad,"  the  captain  said,  the  incredu- 
lous expression  passing  off  from  his  good-i\atured 
countenance,  "do  you  know  I  begin  to  believe 
you're  not  lying  ?  " 


240  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

"  Indeed,  I'm  not,  sir,"  I  replied,  flushing  a  little, 
I  suppose;  "  I  don't  know  what  other  proof  I  can 
offer  you.  Oh,  yes,"  I  said,  a  sudden  thought 
striking  me.  "  We  got  a  mail  from  the  North 
only  a  few  days  ago,  and  I  believe  I  have  some 
letters  in  my  pocket." 

So  I  fished  them  out.  They  w^ere  all  soaked 
with  salt  water,  the  stamps  gone,  and  the  ink 
blurred,  but  they  satisfied  the  captain's  doubt,  and 
he  turned  me  over  to  a  steward  with  orders  to  make 
me  comfortable  in  the  second  cabin.  This  I  found 
to  mean  that  I  was  to  mess  with  the  petty  officers 
of  the  ship,  which  was  all  that  could  be  reasonably 
expected. 

The  tale  of  my  arrival  on  board  soon  spread  in 
various  forms  of  exaggeration,  and  when  the  call 
came  for  breakfast  I  found  myself  the  butt  of 
plenty  of  good-natured  and  some  ill-natured  chaff. 
There  were  a  few  Southerners  and  secessionists 
aboard,  who,  after  the  manner  of  their  kind,  were 
incapable  of  the  courtesies  of  civilized  warfare, 
and  these,  taking  advantage  of  my  lonely  and 
unprotected  condition,  to  say  nothing  of  my  compar- 
atively small  size  and  few  years,  did  not  hesitate 
to  say  all  the  ugly  things  they  could  about  the 
Federal  Government.  I  hit  back  to  some  extent, 
but  upon   the  whole  they  were  too   many   for  me, 


"COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !  "  24I 

SO  eventually  it  was  the  best  policy  to  hold  my 
peace. 

Most  of  my  fellow  voyagers,  however,  were 
Englishmen,  who  cared  very  little  about  our  national 
quarrel  so  long  as  it  afforded  them  the  high  pay 
and  good  fare  current  on  blockade  runners.  The 
captain  sent  for  me  toward  evening,  after  he  had 
his  nap  and  recovered  from  his  exciting,  all-night 
vigil,  and  cross-examined  me  about  my  adventure, 
—  how  the  patrol  boats  had  been  disposed  in  the 
channel,  how  far  outside  the  gunboats  were,  and 
so  on,  gradually  approaching  the  subject  of  the 
general  disposition  of  the  blockading  squadron. 
Boy  like,  I  did  not  immediately  understand  what  he 
was  driving  at,  but  it  occurred  to  me  before  he  got 
very  far,  and  I  could  not  help  laughing  a  little 
when  his  purpose  became  evident. 

"Beg  pardon,  sir,"  I  said;  "I've  been  telling 
you  the  truth  so  far ;  but  if  you  follow  up  that  line 
of  questions  I  shall  have  to  begin  to  lie  more  or 
less." 

The  captain  looked  rather  taken  aback  at  this, 
and  flushed  up  to  the  roots  of  his  sandy  hair ;  but, 
after  clearing  his  throat  once  or  twice,  and  hesi- 
tating a  little,  he  blurted  out  with,  "  Quite  right, 
too,  me  lad,  quite  right ;  but  think  it  over  a 
bit,  and  perhaps  this  will  decide  you  to  help  me  out." 


242  JACK  Benson's  log. 

He  took  a  gold  sovereign  from  his  vest  pocket 
and  laid  it  on  the  table.  I  had  never  seen  one 
before,  and,  my  curiosity  being  aroused,  naturally 
asked  what  it  was  and  how  much  it  was  worth. 
Overcoming  the  natural  astonishment  of  a  British 
subject  at  the  idea  that  any  living  being  can  be 
ignorant  of  the  value  of  one  of  Her  Majesty's  coins, 
he  condescendingly  told  me  that  it  was  worth 
about  five  dollars  in  American  money.  Then  it 
dawned  upon  me  what  he  was  giving  me  the  money 
for. 

"  Captain,"  said  I,  "I've  a  good  notion  to  put 
this  into  my  pocket,  and  then  lie  to  you  about  the 
fleet  all  the  same.  I  could  do  it  easy  enough. 
Oh,  3^es,  I  could  give  you  a  beautiful  plan  of  my 
own  for  managing  the  blockading  squadron,  but  it 
wouldn't  be  at  all  like  the  one  that  the  officer  in 
command  off  Charleston  is  at  present  carrying  out. 
They  say  that  all  is  fair  in  war,  but  I  expect  to 
be  an  officer  in  the  navy  some  day,  and  we  don't 
do  that  kind  of  thing  in  our  service." 

I  laid  the  coin  down,  and  he  put  it  in  his 
pocket,  his  face  once  more  growing  very  red  as 
he  said  :  — 

"I  ask  your  pardon,  me  lad;  indeed,  I  do. 
You  see  I've  been  associating  with  these  secesh 
fellows   so  much   lately  that  I've  got  to  think   no 


"COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !  "  243 

Yankee  has  so  much  as  a  streak  of  honesty  in  him. 
But  I  honor  you  for  it,  me  lad  ;  I  do,  indeed.  And 
let  me  ask  you,  have  you  thought  what  you  will 
do  after  we  get  to  Bermuda?  We  shall  be  there 
inside  of  a  day  and  a  half,  I  hope.  Have  you 
thought  what  you  will  do  ?  " 

"Well,  sir,  I'd  like  to  ask  your  advice  about 
that.  I  suppose  that  if  there  is  a  Yankee  gunboat 
in  port  I  might  report  on  board.  But  if  not,  I 
should  think  the  American  consul  might  take  charge 
of  me." 

"  I'd  be  glad  to  take  you  back  with  me,"  he 
said,  "  but  there  might  be  a  little  awkwardness. 
I'm  afraid  they  would  hang  you  for  a  spy  if  they 
caught  you  in  Charleston." 

"That  would  be  unpleasant,  certainly." 

"Well,  there's  no  special  hurry;  we'll  see  how 
the  land  lays  after  we  get  to  Bermuda." 

All  the  way  across  the  Gulf  Stream  we  had  fine, 
sunshiny  weather,  with  an  ugly  lop  of  a  sea,  to  be 
sure,  the  discomfort  of  which  was  somewhat  in- 
creased by  the  high  rate  of  speed  at  which  we  ran. 
Our  course  was  somewhat  crooked,  too,  for  every 
vessel  that  we  saw  was  a  possible  Yankee  gunboat 
and  had  to  be  given  a  wide  berth. 

As  we  sighted  the  hilltops  of  the  little  tropical 
island  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day  and  began 


244  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

to  draw  in  toward  the  land,  we  made  out  a  steamer 
to  the  northward,  hull  down  be3'ond  the  horizon, 
but  burning  soft  coal  and  steering  a  nearl}^  parallel 
course.  On  inspection  she  proved  to  be  our  sister 
fugitive  of  Charleston  bar,  and  we  steamed  into  the 
lovely  land-locked  harbor  almost  side  by  side. 

There  was  a  great  commotion  in  the  sleepy  little 
seaport  that  was  just  awakening  from  its  century 
of  lethargy  to  a  short  era  of  unwonted  prosperity. 
The  dazzlingly  white  houses  sat  among  their  orange 
trees  on  the  sloping  hillsides  and  made  a  wonder- 
fully beautiful  setting  for  the  sparkling  waters  of 
the  harbor.  The  whole  population,  apparently, 
turned  out  upon  the  unprecedented  occasion  of  see- 
ing two  cotton-laden  steamers  come  into  port.  Every 
one  who  could  beg,  borrow,  or  steal  a  boat  got 
into  it,  and  a  great  fleet  of  miscellaneous  craft  sur- 
rounded us  as  we  let  go  our  anchors.  Not  a  few 
negroes  even  swam  out  to  us  from  the  shore,  and 
all  of  them  were  yelling  and  in  a  high  state  of  ex- 
citement. 

After  the  necessary  official  preliminaries,  great 
gangs  of  negroes  were  put  to  work  breaking  out  the 
cargo  and,  as  soon  as  there  was  any  room,  reloading 
the  empty  space  with  all  kinds  of  arms  and  muni- 
tions of  war.  All  was  confusion  and  hurry,  half- 
naked  negroes  tumbling  over  one  another  and  over 


"COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !   "  245 

cotton  bales  in  their  haste  to  earn  the  high  wages 
that  they  were  enabled  to  ask. 

The  poor,  lonely  little  Yankee  sailor  boy  was 
for  the  time  forgotten.  Along  toward  evening, 
however,  he  began  to  think  it  was  high  time  for 
such  an  important  character  as  a  prisoner  of  war  to 
be  remembered.  So  he  stood  around  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  captain  till  he  caught  his  eye,  and 
asked  permission  to  go  ashore  and  see  the  consul. 

"  Wh}^  bless  me  soul,"  cried  the  captain 
heartily;  "  I  had  forgotten  all  about  the  boy. 
Yes,  to  be  sure.  And  I'll  go  with  you.  I  suppose 
the  consul  will  take  me  word  as  a  gentleman, 
even  if  I  am  a  blockade  runner." 
.  We  were  set  ashore  in  a  boat,  and  a  short  walk 
took  us  to  the  consulate,  where  m.y  heart  gave  a 
foolish  little  jump  when  I  saw  the  stars  and  stripes 
floating  over  the  door.  The  consul  listened  to  my 
story  and  the  captain's  confirmation  thereof,  and 
was  kind  enough  to  say  that  I  came  fairly  within 
his  jurisdiction.  He  agreed,  moreover,  to  provide 
me  with  board  and  lodging  and  send  me  home  by 
the  next  opportunity,  for  such  is  the  duty  of  United 
States  consuls  toward  seamen  in  distress  all  over 
the  world. 

So  I  took  leave  of  my  friend,  the  English 
captain,   thanking    him    for  his  kindness.      Some- 


246  JACK  Benson's  log. 

what  to  my  astonishment,  he  offered  his  hand 
at  parting,  and  said,  after  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion :  — 

"  Here,  me  lad,  take  this  as  a  loan  if  you  like  ;  I 
know  you  must  be  a  bit  short  of  pocket  money," 
and  he  dropped  a  sovereign  into  the  pocket  of  my 
reefer,  turned  on  his  heel,  and  strode  abruptly 
away,  leaving  me,  as  you  may  well  think,  some- 
what taken  aback  at  this  act  of  generosity. 

An  examination  of  the  shipping  list  showed 
that  there  was  nothing  bound  for  a  Northern 
port  for  nearly  three  weeks,  so  I  made  the  best  of 
it,  and,  after  loafing  about  and  seeing  the  town 
and  its  surroundings  until  I  was  tired,  told  the 
consul  that  I  should  die  of  idleness  if  he  could  not 
give  me  something  to  do.  He  laughingly  said 
that  I  had  better  learn  to  be  a  gentleman  of  leisure 
while  I  had  the  opportunity,  but  made  no  objection, 
so  I,  with  my  British  gold,  bought  a  hickory 
shirt  and  a  pair  of  overalls,  found  a  job  as  a 
stevedore,  and  put  by  quite  a  snug  little  sum 
before  the  bark  on  which  my  passage  was  engaged 
was  ready  to  sail  for  New  York. 

On  reaching  port,  I  hurried  to  a  telegraph 
office  —  they  were  not  so  plenty  in  those  days 
as  they  are  now  —  and  wired  Uncle  Abner  as  fol- 
lows :  — 


"COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !   "  247 

Picked  up  by  blockade  runner  that  ran  us  down. 
Bermuda.  Rejoin  "  Otter'''  at  once.  Have 
written.  "Jack. 

Then  I  posted  the  letter  already  written,  for  I 
knew  that  I  must  have  been  mourned  as  lost  by 
my  friends  at  Rockledge. 

Reporting  at  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard,  I  pre- 
sented my  certificate  from  the  United  States  con- 
sul at  Bermuda,  and  told  m}-  story  to  an  official  at 
the  commandant's  office,  who  evidently  thought 
that  both  I  and  the  consul  were  endeavoring  to 
impose  upon  him.  However,  he  allowed  himself 
to  be  convinced  at  last,  and  gave  me  transporta- 
tion on  a  supply  ship  that  was  on  the  point  of 
sailing  for  Hampton  Roads,  where,  after  waiting  a 
few  days,  I  was  forwarded  to  the  "Otter,"  still 
on  blockading  duty  off  Charleston. 

Of  course,  I  had  been  given  up  for  lost,  with 
more  than  half  the  crew  of  the  patrol  boat.  Four 
of  my  boat-mates,  as  I  now  learned,  had  been 
picked  up  by  the  other  patrol,  who  had  heard  their 
cries  for  help  after  the  blockade  runners  had  passed 
out  to  sea. 

It  was  after  dark  when  I  was  run  alongside  the 
"  Otter"  in  a  ship's  boat,  and  one  of  my  old  mess- 
mates was  holding  the  lantern  at  the  port  gangway 


248  JACK  Benson's  log. 

as  I  climbed  the  ladder.  When  I  addressed  him 
by  name,  and  he  saw  me  emerging  from  the  dark- 
ness, he  staggered  backward  in  sheer  terror,  think- 
ing a  ghost  was  come  aboard,  and  nearly  knocked 
over  the  officer  on  watch,  who  stood  a  little  behind 
him.  It  was  some  minutes  before  I  could  convince 
anybody  that  I  was  myself,  and  then  nothing 
would  do  but  I  must  be  taken  straight  to  the 
captain. 

It  will  be  remembered,  perhaps,  that  I  had  done 
some  clerk's  work  for  Captain  Ross.  Indeed,  he 
had  treated  me  as  kindly  as  a  commanding  officer 
can  properly  treat  a  ship's  boy  in  the  navy.  At 
any  rate,  the  watch  officer  walked  me  aft  and  into 
the  captain's  quarters  with  as  little  ceremony  as 
possible.  Collaring  me  as  we  entered,  he  pushed 
me  forward  with  :  — 

"Beg  pardon,  captain.  Here's  a  deserter  just 
come  aboard.  Thought  you  might  like  to  order 
him  shot  at  once." 

The  captain  looked  up  from  the  book  that  he 
was  reading,  and  did  not  recognize  me  at  first,  but, 
as  I  came  forward  toward  the  light,  and  he  saw 
who  it  was,  he  threw  down  his  book  and  jumped 
up. 

"  What,  Benson?  "  he  cried.  "  Wh}^,  you  young 
rascal,   where   have    you    been?     You're  drowned 


"COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !  "  249 

according  to  the  articles  of  war.  I  made  out  your 
final  statement  myself  and  sent  your  traps  home. 
The  boy's  an  impostor  ;  take  him  for'ard,  Trevor  I  " 
—  this  to  the  watch  officer.  "What  do  you  mean 
by  bringing  him  here?  " 

All  this  was  delivered  with  an  air  of  severity  that 
actually  frightened  me,  and  I  was  for  retreating  as 
speedily  as  possible,  but  Trevor,  who  knew  his 
commander's  ways  better  than  I  did,  replied  : — 

"  Very  good,  sir.  I  thought  you  might  want  to 
put  him  in  irons,  sir.      Come  along,  Benson." 

I  heard  Captain  Ross  blowing  his  nose  violently 
as  we  turned,  and  just  as  we  reached  the  door  he 
called  out,  "  Here,  confound  it  all,  where  are  you 
going?     Come  back  ;  I  want  to  talk  to  you," 

So  back  I  went,  and  when  Trevor  had  closed 
the  door  behind  him  Captain  Ross  shook  hands 
with  me  in  a  way  that  I  am  sure  was  quite  contrary 
to  good  order  and' naval  discipline,  and  made  me 
recount  my  adventures  from  beginning  to  end. 

"  And  you  didn't  take  time  to  run  up  to  Stony- 
haven?"  he  asked  when  I  had  finished. 

"No,  sir,  but  I  telegraphed,  and  reported  back 
as  soon  as  I  could." 

"  That  was  right ;  but,  really,  you  deserve  a  few 
days'  leave,  and  I  will  see  that  you  get  it." 

"Thank  you,   sir!      You're  very   good,    but  if 


250  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

you  don't  mind  I'd  like  to  stay  by  the  ships.  I 
hear  there  is  an  expedition  fitting  out." 

"  And  you  think  your  luck  will  stand  by,  do 
you?  Well,  we'll  see  about  that.  Anyhow,  I 
shall  detail  you  for  special  service  again." 

After  I  was  dismissed,  another  and  more 
boisterous  welcome  awaited  me  for'ard  of  the  main- 
mast, and  at  last  I  was  glad  enough  to  turn  in 
and  make  believe  go  to  sleep  in  my  old  ham- 
mock. 

During  my  absence  a  great  naval  victory  had 
been  won  at  Port  Royal  (Nov.  7,,i86i),  in  which 
nearly  the  whole  fleet  had  taken  part,  the  heavier 
armed  vessels  steaming  past  the  forts  again  and 
again,  and  reducing  them  to  silence  after  a  bom- 
bardment of  a  few  hours.  This  victory  secured 
what  was,  in  fact,  the  object  of  the  expedition, —  a 
harbor  available  as  a  naval  rendezvous  south  of 
Cape  Hatteras.  A  strong  armed  garrison  was 
immediately  placed  in  the  captured  forts,  and  the 
position  proved  to  be  of  the  greatest  value  in  main- 
taining the  efficiency  of  the  blockade.  The  head- 
quarters of  the  South  Atlantic  Squadron  was  soon 
afterward  removed  from  Hampton  Roads  to  this 
place. 

I  could  not  but  regret  having  missed  the  impos- 
ing   spectacle    of    this    action,    especially    as    the 


"COME    ABOARD,    SIR  !  "  25 1 

"  Otter"  had  borne  an  honorable,  if  not  particu- 
larly prominent  part  in  the  engagement. 

But  I  was  destined  to  still  another  disappoint- 
ment, for  the  "  Otter"  had  seen  so  much  hard  ser- 
vice that  an  overhauling  was  deemed  absolutely 
necessary,  so  just  before  the  Roanoke  expedition  in 
February,  1862,  we  were  ordered  to  Brooklyn  to 
go  into  dry  dock,  and,  although  a  considerable 
number  of  our  officers  and  men  were  transferred  to 
other  vessels,  I  found  Captain  Ross  inexorable,  so 
made  the  best  of  it,  took  my  promised  leave  of 
absence,  and  passed  a  luxurious  fortnight  at  Rock- 
ledge. 

Returning  to  Brooklyn  on  the  expiration  of  my 
leave,  I  found  that  the  "  Otter  "  had  been  ordered 
out  of  commission,  and  was  undergoing  a  thorough 
overhauling,  her  crew  being  dispersed  to  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth,  or,  at  least,  of  the  navy.  I 
tried  to  find  Captain  Ross,  but  he  had  applied  for 
a  new  command,  so  I  had  to  sling  my  hammock 
in  the  receiving  ship  and  await  orders,  which 
presently  came,  assigning  me  to  a  draft  for  the 
*'  Minnesota,"  still  lying  in  Hampton  Roads,  wait- 
ing for  the  appearance  of  her  twin  sister,  the 
"  Merrimac,"  disguised  as  an  ironclad. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


IRON    AGAINST    WOOD. 


IT  was  with  a  sinking  of  the  heart  which  I  would 
not  have  admitted  on  any  account  that  I  found 
myself,  after  a  short  voyage  from  New  York,  once 
more  nearincf  the  same  "Minnesota"  at  which  I 
had  gazed  with  such  feelings  of  awe  a  few  months 
before.  In  a  way,  it  would  be  a  fine  thing  to  be 
counted  as  one  of  the  crew  of  the  big  warship, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  I  should  have  to  take  my 
chances  in  new  surroundings,  in  a  crowd  probably 
of  very  rough  boys  and  rougher  men,  and  hght  my 
battles  all  over  again.  However,  I  put  on  as  bold 
a  face  as  I  could,  shouldered  my  dunnage,  climbed 
the  gangway,  and  stood  with  my  shipmates,  ranged 
along  in  the  waist  by  the  mainmast,  while  we  were 
assi^fned  our  mess  numbers  and  turned  over  to  our 
respective  division  officers. 

On  one  point,  at  least,  I  could  congratulate  my- 
self. I  should  become  familiar  with  all  the  forms 
of  naval  routine  on  a  large  scale.  The  "Minne- 
sota" carried  a  crew  of  about  seven  hundred  men. 


IRON    AGAINST    WOOD.  253 

all  told,  with  a  full  marine  guard,  a  fine  band  of 
music,  and  all  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  a 
fla""  officer's  official  residence.  On  the  little 
"  Otter,"  while  perfect  discipline  and  punctilious 
naval  etiquette  were  maintained,  there  was  always 
a  feeling  that  she  was  merely  a  makeshift  man-of- 
war,  well  enough  in  her  own  way,  but  not  the  real 
thing,  after  all.  But  here  on  the  "  Minnesota," 
with  her  wide,  white  decks,  her  high  bulwarks, 
lofty  spars,  and  tremendous  battery  of  heavy  guns, 
there  was  a  general  air  of  solidity  that  gave  one 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  she,  indeed,  was 
the  finest  ship  of  her  class  afloat. 

This  was  all  very  fine,  but  there  were  rumors 
abroad  among  the  blue- jackets  between  decks,  as 
well  as  among  the  wardroom  officers  and  in  the 
flag  officer's  cabin,  to  the  effect  that  just  beyond 
the  low  point  that  we  could  see  so  plainlj^  from  our 
topgallant  forecastle,  a  strange  craft  was  fitting  out 
that  would,  before  long,  make  her  appearance  and 
try  conclusions  with  the  fleet. 

This  vessel  has  already  been  referred  to, —  the 
"  Merrimac,"  —  a  sister  ship  to  the  "Minnesota," 
which  had  been  sunk  and  partly  destroyed  in  April 
(1861),  by  order  of  Commodore  Macauley,  when 
the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard  was  abandoned.  It  was 
known  earlv  in  the  summer  that  she  had  been  raised 


254  JACK    BENSON  S    LOG. 

and  floated  into  the  dry  dock  in  a  comparatively 
uninjured  condition  as  to  her  machinery  and  lower 
hull;  that  she  had  been  rechristened  "The  Vir- 
ginia," and  that  an  accomplished  officer  of  the  old 
navy,  Lieutenant  John  M.  Brooke,  was  superin- 
tending the  work  of  converting  her  into  the  most 
formidable  ironclad  afloat. 

"  Contrabands  "  now  and  then  strayed  into  the 
lines,  and  were  interviewed  by  "  Jackies"  when  on 
shore  leave,  who  had  seen  this  monster  and  de- 
scribed her  with  all  the  exuberance  of  the  African 
imagination,  aided  and  abetted  by  a  sublime  dis- 
regard of  fact.  Naturally,  being  on  the  spot,  we 
heard  more  about  this  unknown  foe  than  we  did 
about  a  certain  little  craft  that  was  being  hastily 
knocked  together  at  the  North. 

The  Confederates  deserve  all  the  credit  of  hav- 
ing led  off  in  the  matter  of  ironclads.  No  sooner 
were  they  satisfied  of  their  naval  inferiority  in 
quantity  than  they  went  to  work  making  good  the 
deficiency  in  quality.  Hardly  had  the  Norfolk 
Navy  Yard  fallen  into  their  hands  before  they 
began  straining  every  nerve  to  produce  a  single 
ship  that  should  be  able  not  only  to  sink  the  entire 
Yankee  fleet,  but  could  go  to  sea  and  lay  the 
great  Northern  cities  under  tribute. 

Now,  in  February,  it  was  tolerably  certain,  from 


IRON    AGAINST    WOOD.  255 

all  information  gathered,  that  she  was  nearly  ready 
to  come  out,  and  yet  so  contradictory  were  the 
rumors,  so  peaceful  the  broad  estuary  in  which 
we  lay  at  anchor  in  our  strength,  that  we  were 
half  inclined  to  think  that  she  was  altogether  a 
myth  of  the  imagination.  There  was  plenty  of 
speculation,  however,  about  the  chances,  and  gen- 
eral sentiment  among  the  blue- jackets  was,  "  Let 
her  come ;  we  can  run  her  down  and  send  her  to 
the  bottom,  even  if  we  can't  lick  her  in  a  stand-up 
fight." 

The  soft  Virginia  spring  came  on  apace,  and  I 
had  been  shaken  down  into  an  insignificant  niche 
as  a  "  first-class  boy,"  a  small  atom  of  the  great 
fighting  machine  that  in  those  da3-s  passed  for  a 
battle  ship.  Very  different  she  was,  of  course, 
from  the  steel-clad  battle  ships  of  to-day,  but  highly 
efficient,  for  all  that,  to  meet  the  conditions  for  which 
she  was  designed,  with  her  fifty  heavy  broadside 
guns,  her  hundred-pounder  rifles  at  bow  and  stern, 
and  her  superb  crew  of  seven  hundred  men. 

To  the  stern  chaser  I  had  been  assigned  as  pow- 
der boy  at  general  quarters,  and  there  would  be 
my  station  in  case  of  an  engagement.  I  had 
become  quite  attached  to  the  big,  polished,  brown 
creature  that  could  send  a  pointed  iron  bolt  four  or 
five  miles,  and  was  yet  so  docile  in  the  hands  of 


256  JACK  Benson's  log. 

her  well-trained  crew.  My  duty  for  the  most  part 
was  to  pass  cartridges,  fill  buckets  of  water,  lend  a 
hand  with  the  gun  tackles,  and,  in  short,  do  any- 
thing and  everything  that  my  strength  was  equal 
to. 

March  came  in  very  lamblike,  not  in  the  least 
resembling  the  March  of  a  year  before  on  the  wild 
New  England  coast,  and  a  week  passed  by  with- 
out any  farther  news  of  the  threatened  attack. 
The  Federal  fleet  lay  as  it  had  lain  for  months, 
with  the  exception  of  occasional  expeditions  for 
maneuvering  or  target  practise.  It  consisted  of  the 
big  steam  frigates  "Minnesota"  and  "Roanoke," 
sister  ships  originally  to  the  now  transformed  "  Mer- 
rimac."  These  two  lay  near  Fortress  Monroe,  and 
the  old-fashioned  sailing  frigates,  "  Congress''  and 
"  Cumberland,"  were  anchored  some  five  miles 
above,  off  the  camps  at  Newport  News,  where  they 
could  command,  or  at  least  threaten,  the  mouth  of 
James  River  with  their  batteries. 

Saturday,  the  eighth  of  March,  1862,  was  a 
lovely  spring  day  in  Hampton  Roads.  There  had 
been  lately  a  severe  storm,  and  our  canvas  was 
shaken  out  to  dry  in  the  warm  sunshine,  besides 
which  a  goodly  part  of  the  week's  wash  hung  on 
long  lines  among  the  rigging.  Most  of  the  boats 
were  in  the  water  alongside,  and  the  fleet  looked  as 


IRON    AGAINST    WOOD.  257 

peaceful  as  it  was  possible  for  warships  to  look 
when  practically  they  are  in  the  presence  of  the 
enemy  and  are  supposed  to  be  ready  on  the  instant 
for  any  emergency. 

As  with  us  so  with  our  sister  ship,  the 
"  Roanoke,"  lying  further  down  the  Roads,  and  the 
old-fashioned  sailing  frigate  "  St.  Lawrence,"  just 
in  from  sea.  So,  too,  with  the  "Congress"  and 
"Cumberland,"  off  the  mouth  of  the  James,  with 
Federal  shore  batteries  at  Newport  News. 

In  the  James  River,  beyond  the  reach  of  our 
guns,  lay  three  Confederate  gunboats  that  had  come 
down  on  a  reconnoitering  expedition,  but  their 
presence  caused  no  uneasiness ;  they  often  came 
down  on  such  expeditions  and  sometimes  indulged 
in  a  little  target  practise  at  long  range.  That  they 
now  made  a  longer  stay  than  usual  near  the  mouth 
of  the  river  did  not  cause  any  especial  anxiety, 
though  it  might  well  have  suggested  the  intention 
which  was  presently  carried  out. 

But  our  Confederate  neighbors  in  the  direction 
of  Norfolk  were  stirring,  too,  on  this  bright  spring 
morning.  A  little  before  noon  two  more  gunboats 
made  their  appearance  in  Elizabeth  River.  That 
made  five  in  all,  and,  on  our  part,  the  "  Zouave,"  a 
small  gunboat,  was  sent  off  post-haste  to  investi- 
gate.     Hardly  was   she  under  way  when  a  sixth 


258  JACK  Benson's  log. 

and  more  formidable-looking  trail  of  smoke  became 
visible  above  the  woods.  And  the  lookout  in  our 
crosstrees  presently  announced  that  a  large  steamer 
was  coming  down. 

She  moved  steadily  down  stream,  attended  by  the 
two  smaller  steamers,  and  our  little  "Zouave" 
gunboat  pluckily  ran  up  within  range  and  banged 
away  at  her  for  a  few  minutes  without  eliciting  any 
reply.  The  big  black  monster  came  steadily  on, 
evidently  caring  no  more  for  thirty-two-pounder  shot 
bolts  than  she  did  for  so  many  marbles. 

The  little  "Zouave"  was  not  worth  wasting 
powder  upon  when  larger  game  was  in  sight. 
Like  a  little  terrier  that  suddenly  discovers  that  he 
has  been  barking  at  a  sleepy  but  dangerous  mastiff, 
the  "  Zouave"  turned  and  fled  back  to  her  consorts. 
In  justice  to  her,  however,  it  should  be  added  that 
she  was  recalled  by  signal  from  the  flagship. 

And  now  the  lazy,  peaceful-looking  Federal 
fleet  started  out  of  its  seeming  lethargy  in  a 
twinkling.  Down  came  the  long  clothes-lines  on 
deck,  and  "Jacky's"  week's  washing  was  hastily 
bundled  out  of  the  way  and  tossed  below  as  the 
decks  were  cleared  for  action.  Top-men  lay 
aloft  to  furl  the  sails,  boat-booms  were  swung  in, 
and  the  boats  hoisted  to  their  davits  or  dropped 
astern.     The  magazines  were  opened,  and  ammuni- 


IRON    AGAINST    WOOD.  259 

tion  hurried  on  deck  and  laid  in  rows  between  the 
guns,  ready  for  instant  use. 

To  a  landsman  everything  seems  in  hopeless 
confusion  at  such  a  time  and  every  man  on  the 
point  of  tumbling  over  his  mate.  But  on  board  a 
well-ordered  ship  it  is  a  disciplined  and  orderly 
confusion.  In  a  few  minutes  every  man  is  at  his 
station,  quiet  reigns  fore  and  aft,  and  until  action 
begins  an  order  can  be  heard  from  one  end  of  the 
ship  to  the  other. 

By  the  time  we  were  fairly  ready  the  cause  of 
all  this  commotion  became  visible  from  the  deck, 
slowly  emerging  from  behind  the  wooded  lowlands 
of  the  Virginia  shore,  an  uncanny  shape  pushing 
out  into  the  open  waters  of  the  sound.  The  long- 
talked-of  Merrimac  was  no  longer  a  myth  !  Very 
material,  very  black  and  formidable  she  looked, 
moving  slowly  down  the  Elizabeth  Channel.  To 
the  naked  eye  at  that  distance  she  was  like  the 
roof  of  a  long  barn,  with  its  eaves  in  the  water. 
A  nearer  view  showed  rounded,  sloping  ends  in 
place  of  gables,  and  long,  low  decks  just  awash 
with  the  sea,  extending  fore  and  aft  bevond  the 
sloping  armor  plates.  A  lofty  smoke-stack,  several 
port-holes  closed  with  heavy  shutters,  and  some 
light  davits,  stays,  and  the  like  were  alone  visible 
outside  of  the  solid  structure. 


26o  JACK  Benson's  log. 

Slowly  she  came  on  down  the  river  channel, 
and,  reaching  the  deep  water  of  the  Roads,  turned 
to  the  left  toward  the  sailing  frigates  off  Newport 
News.  The  ' '  Congress  "  was  nearest  to  her  course, 
and  would  apparently  be  the  first  to  feel  the  weight 
of  the  enemy's  metal,  but  here  came  in  one  of  the 
strange  incidents  of  this  fight.  The  commanding 
officer  of  the  "Virginia"  ("  Merrimac"),  Captain 
Franklin  Buchanan,  late  of  the  United  States  Navy, 
had  a  brother  who  had  remained  loyal  to  the  Union, 
and  was  at  this  time  an  officer  on  board  the  "  Con- 
gress.'' The  two  brothers  may  have  looked  into 
each  other's  eyes  through  marine  glasses  from  the 
decks  of  the  hostile  ships.  Certainly  each  knew 
that  the  other  was  present. 

Whether  for  this  or  for  some  other  reason, 
Buchanan  merely  delivered  a  broadside  in  passing, 
and  went  on  to  test  his  ram  on  the  "  Cumberland." 
His  four  broadside  guns  were  well  aimed  and 
caused  destruction  on  board  the  "  Congress,"  which, 
of  course,  replied  with  her  full  battery  as  long  as  they 
could  be  brought  to  bear.  But  her  nine-inch  solid 
shot  glanced  from  the  iron  plates  like  hailstones 
from  a  tin  roof,  and  the  "  Virginia"  passed  on,  head- 
ing straight  for  the  "  Cumberland  "  which  lay  a  few 
hundred  yards  beyond. 

The   old  wooden   sloop  of  war  began   pounding 


IRON    AGAINST    WOOD.  26 1 

away  with  her  heavy  guns,  in  anticipation  of  closer 
quarters  and  in  the  hope  that  by  a  lucky  shot  her 
formidable  antagonist  might  in  some  way  be  dis- 
abled. But  under  a  full  head  of  steam  the 
"Virginia"  came  on,  and  struck  her  helpless 
victim  just  by  the  fore  rigging,  crashing  through 
her  oaken  ribs  into  her  hold,  and  making  a  fatal 
gash  in  her  side. 

But  the  walls  of  the  gallant  old  ship  nipped 
hard,  so  hard,  indeed,  that  they  bit  off  the 
destroyer's  nose,  and  the  "Virginia's"  iron  ram 
remained  in  the  opening  it  had  made  when  she 
backed  off.  It  was  evident  that  the  "  Congress" 
could  only  remain  afloat  for  a  short  time,  but,  refus- 
ing Buchanan's  demand  for  surrender.  Lieutenant 
Norris  continued  to  hght  his  sinking  ship,  which 
soon  began  to  settle  by  the  head. 

The  lower  decks  were  flooded,  gun  after  gun 
had  to  be  abandoned,  the  wounded  were  removed 
to  save  them  from  drowning,  and  still  the  fight 
went  on.  Now  that  their  powerful  consort  was 
engaged,  the  Confederate  gunboats  came  out  from 
the  James  River  and  joined  the  fight. 

More  than  a  hundred  of  the  "Cumberland's" 
crew  were  already  killed  or  wounded,  but  the  men 
continued  to  work  their  oruns  till  the  decks  were 
awash,  and  when  the  word  was  given,  "  Every  man 


262  JACK  Benson's  loo. 

for  himself,"  the  vipper  battery  was  still  in  action, 
with  the  water  washing  around  the  wheels  of  the  gun 
carriages.  It  was  half  past  three  in  the  afternoon 
when  she  gave  a  lurch  to  port  and  went  down  with 
her  flags  all  a-flying.  More  than  a  third  of  her 
crew  were  killed,  or  wounded,  or  drowned  in  try- 
ing to  escape  to  shore. 

Seeing  that  the  fate  of  the  "Cumberland" 
would  inevitably  be  his,  Lieutenant  Smith,  com- 
manding the  frigate  "  Congress,"  set  his  head  sails, 
taking  advantage  of  a  light  breeze,  and,  aided  by 
the  gunboat  "  Zouave,"  ran  his  ship  ashore  under 
the  guns  of  the  land  batteries,  where  he  was  at 
least  safe  from  ramminfj. 

But  the  "  Virginia  "  was  in  no  especial  hurry. 
She  steamed  off  up  the  Roads,  turned  leisurely 
round,  and  in  half  an  hour  came  back  to  a  position 
where,  with  the  assistance  of  her  consort,  she  could 
knock  her  second  victim  to  pieces  at  her  leisure. 

The  ' '  Congress  "  replied  with  such  of  her  guns 
as  could  be  brought  to  bear,  but  Lieutenant  Smith, 
the  commander,  was  soon  killed,  and  Lieutenant 
Pendergast,  upon  whom  the  command  devolved, 
continued  the  tight  until  his  ship  was  on  fire  in 
several  places  and  his  two  principal  guns  disabled 
by  the  enemy's  shot.  Then  he  reluctantly  hauled 
down  his  flag,  and  the  light  draft  Confederate  gun- 


IRON    AGAINST    WOOD.  263 

boats  came  alongside,  and  began  carrying  off  the 
crew  as  prisoners. 

The  shore  batteries,  however,  did  not  understand 
the  situation,  and  firing  went  on  until,  in  the  smoke 
and  confusion,  all  escaped  who  were  left  alive, 
and  the  frigate  was  wrapped  in  flames  from  end  to 
end.  At  about  this  time  Captain  Buchanan,  of  the 
"Virginia,"  and  one  of  his  officers  were  wounded 
by  a  rifle  shot  from  the  shore,  and  the  command 
fell  to  Lieutenant  Jones. 

While  this  spirited  fight  was  in  progress,  where 
was  the  "  Minnesota"?  Hard  and  fast  aground,  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  the  scene  of  action  I  It  has 
since  turned  out  that  her  pilot  was  a  traitor  and  in 
the  pay  of  the  Confederacy,*  and  that  he  purposely 
ran  the  "  Minnesota  "  aground  in  compliance  with 
instructions  previously  received  from  Richmond. 

But  the  "Virginia"  herself  was  aground  more 
than  once  during  the  fight,  and  the  "Roanoke" 
and  "St.  Lawrence"  had  gone  ashore,  too,  on 
their  way  to  take  part  in  the  engagement,  so  that 
the  blame  cannot  fairly  be  laid  upon  one  pair  of 
shoulders. 

We  of  the  "Minnesota  "  saw  the  "Congress" 
in  flames  and  the  "  Cumberland"  sunk,  and  even 
I,  boy  as  I  was,  knew  that  it  would  be  our  turn 

(*  See  Maclay's  History  of  the  United  States  Navy,  Vol.  II.,  page  295.) 


264  JACK  Benson's  log. 

next,  if  there  was  daylight  enough  left  for  them  to 
finish  us,  a  task  which  they  seemed  quite  ready  to 
undertake.  But  on  attempting  to  come  to  close 
quarters  they  found  that  the  water  was  so  shoal  that 
it  must  needs  be  a  duel  at  long  range. 

It  was  a  one-sided  affair  while  it  lasted,  for  we 
were  fixed  firmly  in  the  mud,  and  our  enemy  could 
choose  his  own  position  where  our  most  powerful 
guns  could  not  be  brought  to  bear  upon  him.  The 
lighter  draught  gunboats,  too,  could  take  position 
where  they  chose  in  the  comparatively  shallow 
water,  and  annoy  us  at  their  ease. 

Captain  Van  Brunt,  who  was  in  command  in  the 
temporary  absence  of  the  flag  officer,  made  every 
preparation  for  setting  his  ship  on  fire  and  aban- 
doning her  rather  than  surrender,  but  in  the  mean- 
time he  kept  up  the  fight  as  well  as  he  could,  using 
the  big  pivot  rifle  forward  against  the  "Virginia," 
while  the  stern  chaser  kept  the  light-draught  gun- 
boats at  a  respectful  distance. 

We  could  not  have  held  out  very  long  against 
such  odds,  for  the  enemy's  shells  were  raking  us 
fore  and  aft  and  killing  and  wounding  our  men  at 
the  guns,  but  the  "  St.  Lawrence  "  at  last  got  afloat 
and  came  up  under  tow  of  a  tugboat,  making  short 
work  with  the  little  gunboats,  which  speedily  fled 
out  of  her  range. 


IRON    AGAINST    WOOD.  265 

Fortunately  for  us,  night  was  approaching,  and 
by  seven  o'clock  the  pilots  of  the  "Virginia" 
decided  that  it  was  no  longer  safe  to  maneuver 
her  in  the  channel,  so  she  ironically  fired  a  good- 
night shot  and  steamed  off  to  anchor  at  Craney 
Island,  leaving  behind  her  perhaps  the  most  dis- 
heartened naval  squadron  that  ever  floated  the 
stars  and  stripes. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


IRON    AGAINST    IRON. 


IT  has  often  been  said  that  the  RebelHon  reached 
its  high  water  mark  when  Pickett's  division 
deHvered  its  gallant  charge  at  Gettysburg,  but  it 
is  a  question,  perhaps,  if  the  Confederacy  was  not 
nearer  a  crowning  success  on  the  first  night  of  the 
Hampton  Roads  fight  than  at  any  other  period  of 
its  career. 

So  far  as  human  foresight  could  reach,  nothing 
stood  in  the  way  of  the  destruction  of  the  rest  of 
the  Federal  fleet  on  the  morrow.  Wherever  the 
telegraph  reached  in  the  Confederacy  the  greatest 
exultation  prevailed,  and  in  many  places  public 
thanksgiving  services  were  held  then  and  on  the 
following  Sunday  morning. 

Victory  meant  the  opening  of  the  Chesapeake 
and  James  Rivers,  the  raising  of  the  blockade, 
the  placing  of  Washington  and,  perhaps,  the  great 
commercial  cities  of  the  north  under  tribute,  and, 
best  of  all,  the  recognition  of  belligerent  rights  by  the 
nations  of  Europe.     Truly,  the  Confederacy  had 


IRON    AGAINST    IRON.  267 

cause  for  thanksgiving,  if  ever,  on  that  Saturday 
night. 

All  over  the  North,  on  the  contrary,  was  gloom 
and  despondency,  and  in  Northern  churches  prayers 
were  offered  for  succor  where  none  seemed  pos- 
sible. But  all  these  conditions  were  destined  to  a 
most  unexpected  reversal. 

Worn  out  with  excitement,  and  waiting  for  the 
expected  explosion  of  the  still  burning  "  Congress," 
I  had  thrown  myself  down  beside  an  ammunition 
chest  on  deck  and  gone  fast  asleep,  when  some- 
body fell  over  me  about  midnight,  and  I  awoke  to 
the  consciousness  of  an  unusual  bustle  and  excite- 
ment. Somewhat  dazed,  I  could  not  at  first  make 
out  what  was  going  on,  but  presently  pulled  my- 
self together,  and,  climbing  upon  the  hammock 
netting,  looked  down  upon  a  nondescript  craft  just 
making  fast  alongside  of  us. 

She  shone  ruby  red  in  the  light  of  the  burning 
frigate,  little  more  than  a  mile  distant,  and  active, 
gnomelike  figures  sprang  about  her  low-lying 
deck  or  climbed  over  a  queer  hatbox-looking 
structure  amidships.  At  that  time  neither  pictures 
nor  descriptions  had  made  her  appearance  familiar 
to  the  public,  and  "  Jacky  "  himself  knew  nothing 
whatever  about  her. 

However,  serious  as  the  situation  was,  he  hung 


268  JACK  Benson's  log. 

over  the  rail  and  made  his  jokes  at  her  till  one 
o'clock,  when  the  "  Congress  "  blew  up,  and  left  the 
broad  bay  in  darkness.  All  night  long  the  "  Moni- 
tor "  men,  already  weary  with  a  two  days'  fight 
for  life  on  the  ocean,  were  busy  preparing  for  the 
morrow's  battle. 

Here,  at  least,  was  a  new  element  in  the  fight, 
and"Jacky's"  spirits  rallied  wonderfully,  believ- 
ing religiously  in  the  traditional  luck  of  the 
American  navy. 

We  did  not  know  tiien  how  four  months  after 
the  reconstruction  of  the  "Virginia"  was  fairl}'- 
begun,  plans  for  the  "  Monitor,"  the  invention  of  John 
Ericsson,  had  been  somewhat  doubtfully  adopted 
by  the  Government  as  an  experiment, — how  work 
had  been  pushed  to  the  uttermost,  and  how,  at  last, 
she  had  been  been  hurried  off  to  sea  without  even 
a  trial  trip,  and  with  a  crew  to  whom  her  machin- 
ery was  wholly  new  and  the  mechanical  devices 
for  loading  her  heavy  guns  quite  unfamiliar. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  this  was  also  true  of  her 
destined  antagonist.  The  "Virginia"  was  hardly 
well  rid  of  her  mechanics  when  she  was  sent  into 
action.  Her  crew  was  untrained  and  undisciplined, 
some  of  them  being  artillery-men  detailed  from  the 
army  for  this  service.  Another  curious  coinci- 
dence is  that  both  Captain  Buchanan  and  Lieuten- 


IRON    AGAINST    IRON.  269 

ant  Worden  were  on  the  sick  list  when  the  fight 
began,  and  both  were  wounded  and  disabled  before 
it  was  over. 

The  little  "  Monitor,"  never  having  been  tried  at 
sea,  being  the  first  of  her  type  that  was  ever  set 
afloat,  was  more  of  an  experiment  even  than  the 
"  Virginia,"  which  had  some  prototypes,  at  least, 
in  the  French  navy.  Of  the  perilous  voyage  of 
the  "  Monitor  "  from  New  York  to  Hampton  Roads 
no  details  need  here  be  given,  but  as  she  passed 
in  between  the  Virginia  Capes  her  anxious  and 
exhausted  crew  heard  the  booming  of  heavy  guns, 
and  rightly  guessed  that  the  fight  was  already  on. 
In  the  smooth  water  of  the  lower  Chesapeake  she 
was  soon  making  good  time  toward  the  scene  of 
action,  where  she  aiTived  shortly  after  dark. 

Her  orders  were  to  proceed  immediately  to 
Washington  to  complete  her  equipment  and  be  on 
hand  to  defend  the  capitol,  but,  as  fortunately 
happens  sometimes,  Lieutenant  Worden  was  one 
who  was  ready  to  disobey  orders  when  he  saw 
good  reason  for  it.  Accordingly,  he  stayed  in 
Hampton  Roads  and  tied  up  alongside  the  "  Minne- 
sota," as  I  have  related. 

Sunday  morning  dawned  as  bright  and  beautiful 
as  the  Saturday  that  preceded  it,  and  both  sides 
were    early  awake    in    anticipation    of   the    events 


270  JACK  Benson's  log. 

that  were  to  follow.  Everybody  in  the  eastern 
counties  who  could  reach  a  point  commanding  a 
view  of  Hampton  Roads  came  to  witness  the  final 
destruction  of  the  Yankee  fleet.  The  Federals 
had  not  been  idle  during  the  night,  and  ever^^thing 
that  ingenuity  could  devise  had  been  done  to 
strengthen  the  defenses  on  sea  and  land  in  the 
desperate  hope  that  some  lucky  shot  might  find  a 
weak  point  in  the  hitherto  invulnerable  foe. 

After  giving  her  men  time  to  get  their  breakfast 
comfortably,  the  "  Virginia"  and  her  consorts  got 
under  way,  and  came  down  the  river  in  leisurely 
fashion  to  resume  the  work  of  devastation  so  satis- 
factorily begun  the  day  before.  Her  first  intended 
victim  was  the  "  Minnesota,"  which  still  huntr  fast 
on  Hampton  Bar,  where  her  treacherous  pilot  had 
laid  her  up  for  the  convenience  of  his  rebel  friends. 

While  still  a  mile  away,  she  fired  a  shot  from  her 
bow  rifle  which  fairl}'  hulled  us,  and  served 
effectually  as  a  foretaste  of  what  was  to  follow  at 
closer  quarters.  But  it  was  the  signal,  too,  for  the 
little  "Monitor"  to  steam  out  from  behind  her 
consort  and  head  direct  for  her  formidable  adver- 
sary. For  the  first  time  in  the  world's  history,  two 
heavily  armed  and  heavily  armored  steamships 
were  about  to  meet  in  action  ! 

We  boys  who  hung  in  the  "  Minnesota's  "  rigging 


IRON    AGAINST    IRON.  271 

and  watched  the  fight  from  a  distance  little 
guessed  what  it  all  meant.  But  it  was,  at  least, 
better  fun  than  being  knocked  to  pieces  after 
yesterday's  fashion  without  half  a  chance  of  being 
able  to  hit  back. 

The  "Virginia"  fired  away  as  rapidly  as  possi- 
ble with  her  big  Brooke  rifle,  but  the  low,  black, 
revolving  turret  was  not  so  easy  to  hit  as  the  broad- 
side of  a  wooden  frigate,  and  her  gunners  were 
perhaps  somewhat  disconcerted  by  this  apparition 
that  looked,  as  they  afterwards  said,  "  like  a  Yan- 
kee cheese  box  on  a  raft."  At  any  rate,  they  did 
not  hit  her,  and  the  "Monitor"  reserved  her  fire 
until  she  could  get  to  very  close  quarters. 

When  nearly  alongside  she  delivered  her  two 
eleven-inch  solid  shot  from  the  turret  guns  with  a 
weight  of  concussion  that  made  the  "  Virginia  " 
shiver,  though  it  did  not  pierce  her  armor.  Almost 
at  the  same  moment,  having  now  come  within  close 
range  of  the  broadside  guns,  a  heavy  shell  struck 
the  "  Monitor's  "  turret ;  it  glanced  harmlessly  off, 
though  the  entire  gun  crew  felt  the  shock  and 
looked  around  in  anxiety  to  see  what  the  effect 
would  be.  Nothing  happened.  The  turret  was 
as  stanch  as  ever,  and  when  the  engineer  turned 
his  crank  the  heavy  structure  revolved  as  easily  as 
before.      Anxiety  on  this  point  was  relieved. 


272  JACK  Benson's  log. 

The  ironclads  now  turned  and  repassed  one 
another  at  even  closer  quarters.  The  "  Virginia  " 
making  the  most  of  her  ten  guns  and  numerous 
crew,  and  firing  as  rapidly  as  she  could ;  the 
"  Monitor,"  with  her  small  crew  and  only  two 
guns,  responded  deliberately,  firing  at  intervals  of 
about  seven  minutes.  Owing  to  her  lighter  draught 
and  greater  ease  in  handling,  she  could,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  choose  her  own  position  and  so  at 
times  gain  a  temporary  advantage.  Once  she 
caught  the  "Virginia"  in  a  position  where  none 
of  her  guns  could  be  brought  to  bear,  and  again 
she  tried  to  ram  the  "Virginia's"  steering  gear, 
but  missed  it  by  a  few  feet.  So  the  mighty  duel 
went  on.  And  we  of  the  wooden  ships  could  only 
watch  its  progress  with  increasing  anxiety,  but, 
upon  the  whole,  with  growing  confidence  in  our 
little  champion. 

Lieutenant  Jones  at  length  made  up  his  mind 
that  there  was  no  use  in  wasting  powder  against 
a  solid  iron  turret,  so  he  decided  to  turn  his  atten- 
tion again  to  ships  that  he  could  sink.  The 
"Minnesota"  was  nearest  at  hand,  and,  slowly 
turnin<r  her  huu'e  bulk,  the  "Virginia"  bore  down 
upon  us.  It  was  her  turn  now  to  get  aground, 
but  after  a  little  manuevering  she  came  within 
range,  and  we  opened  upon  her,  giving  her  broad- 


-      IRON    AGAINST    IRON.  273 

side  after  broadside,  with  no  more  effect  than  if 
our  soHd  shot  had  been  so  many  Dutch  cheeses. 

The  enem3''s  shells  speedily  set  us  on  tire  and 
threatened  to  reduce  us  to  a  wreck  in  short  order. 
It  looked  as  though  the  tables  were  to  be  turned 
again.  But  while  we  were  working  our  guns  to 
the  best  of  our  ability  the  little  "Monitor"  came 
up  between  us,  and  was  at  him  again,  and  would 
not  let  him  alone.  He  found  the  shot  of  the  size 
that  she  carried  could  not  be  ignored,  so  the  duel 
was  resumed. 

Once  the  "  Monitor"  had  to  run  awa3Mnto  shoal 
water  while  she  hoisted  a  fresh  supply  of  ammuni- 
tion into  her  turret,  and  all  the  spectators  thought 
that  the  game  was  up.  But  in  fifteen  minutes  she 
was  back  again,  saucy  and  full  of  fight  as  ever, 
and  the  "Virginia"  began  to  think  that  she  had 
the  worst  of  the  bargain.  Having  failed  to  make 
any  impression  upon  the  turret,  it  occurred  to  Lieu- 
tenant Jones  to  turn  his  guns  upon  the  pilot  house, 
or  "  conning  tower,"  as  it  would  now  be  called. 

The  first  shell  exploded  against  it  just  as 
Lieutenant  Worden  was  looking  through  a  narrow 
sight-hole.  His  eyes  were  blinded  by  the  burning 
powder,  and  he  was  for  the  moment  totally  dis- 
abled. He  managed,  however,  to  give  the  order 
to  sheer  off,  thinking  that  the  conning  tower  had 


274  J-^CK  Benson's  log. 

been  destroyed,  and  tottered  down  the  ladder, 
where  he  was  found  almost  insensible  by  Lieutenant 
Green,  who  was  at  once  called  to  take  command. 

The  wounded  officer  was  left  in  charge  of  Sur- 
geon Logue,  and  the  tight  continued.  During  the 
few  minutes  of  confusion  following  Worden's 
wound  the  "Monitor"  had  been  without  a  helm, 
and  as  her  engines  were  still  working  she  had 
taken  her  way  into  shoal  water.  When  Lieutenant 
Green  got  her  in  hand  again  the  "  Virginia  "  was 
heading  for  Norfolk,  and,  although  he  followed 
and  gave  her  three  or  four  parting  shots,  she  had 
apparently  had  enough  of  it,  and  never  again 
ventured  to  face  the  "  Monitor's"  guns.  She  was 
destroyed  some  two  months  afterward  by  her  own 
crew  to  prevent  her  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
Federals. 

Practically,  neither  ship  was  seriously  harmed  by 
this  protracted  encounter ;  each  was  struck  many 
times,  and  the  "Virginia  "  had  pretty  much  every- 
thing swept  away  that  did  not  belong  to  her  solid 
armor.  Her  smoke-stack  was  sodamacjed  that  her 
engines  could  not  be  made  to  work  as  well  as 
usual.  While  her  injuries  were  not  of  a  perma- 
nent character,  it  is  a  fact  that  she  went  into  dry 
dock  at  Norfolk,  and  was  for  a  month  undergo- 
ing   extensive    repairs    and    improvements,       The 


IRON    AGAINST    IRON.  275 

"Monitor's"  injuries,  on  the  contrary,  were  so 
slight  that  her  own  crew  did  all  that  was  necessary, 
and  had  her  in  fighting  trim  within  a  few  hours  after 
recovering  from  their  extraordinary  exertions. 

The  fact  is  that  after  this  engagement  both  the 
Confederates  and  the  Federal  Governments  were 
afraid  to  risk  another  like  it.  The  Federals  assem- 
bled a  large  fleet  in  Hampton  Roads,  the  "  Moni- 
tor "  being  still  their  only  ironclad,  and  instructions 
were  given  to  the  flag  officer,  Commodore  Golds- 
boro,  to  sacrifice  his  entire  wooden  fleet  before 
allowing  the  "  Monitor"  to  go  into  action. 

This  policy  was  probably  the  wisest  that  could 
have  been  adopted,  but  it  was  ver}-  unpopular  in 
the  fleet,  and  especially  on  board  the  "Monitor" 
herself,  whose  crew  longed  to  settle  the  question  of 
superiority  once  for  all.  Once  or  twice  more  the 
"Virginia"  ran  out  from  Norfolk,  and  practically 
dared  the  Federals  to  come  on,  but,  while  we  were 
all  ready  to  act  on  the  defensive,  our  instructions 
were  not  to  open  the  attack.  At  the  time  we  all 
thought  the  policy  was  cowardly,  and  were  corre- 
spondingly indignant.  But  the  fact  that  in  two 
months  the  "Virginia"  was  I'endered  forever 
harmless  without  the  loss  of  a  single  life  justifies 
the  policy  of  inaction  in  the  light  of  history. 

It  only  remains  to  say  that  after  the  "Virginia" 


276  JACK  Benson's  log. 

had  thus  been  disposed  of ,  the  "Monitor"  rested 
on  her  laurels  at  Hampton  Roads  until  December, 
1862,  when  she  was  ordered  South,  was  caught  in 
a  gale  off  Cape  Hatteras,  and  foundered  at  sea, 
carrying  down  with  her  sixteen  of  her  sixty-five 
men. 

Within  the  year,  therefore,  these  two  ships, 
which  in  an  encounter  of  a  few  hours'  duration 
turned  topsy-turvy  the  naval  architecture  of  the 
world,  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  together. 
Meanwhile,  other  monitors  and  other  casemated 
ironclads  were  building,  and  the  superiority  of 
types  was  to  be  settled  in  other  waters. 

But  Jack  Benson  is  "  overrunning  his  reckon- 
ing," as  the  best  of  navigators  sometimes  do.  In 
other  words,  his  log  in  its  revised  form  is  outgrow- 
ing the  notes  hastily  penciled  on  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  paper  when  he  was  "  afore  the  mast." 
At  the  end  of  a  sizable  volume  he  is  not  yet  half 
way  through  with  his  record,  and  has  been  barely 
a  year  in  the  service.  He  sees  nothing  for  it, 
therefore,  but  to  go  on  and  spin  his  yarn  through 
another  book,  to  be  called,  "  A  Medal  of  Honor 
Man." 


END. 


W.  A.  WILDE  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS. 


TN  WILD  AFRICA.     Advetitures  of  Two   Boys  in  the 
-*      Sahara  Desert,  etc.     By  Col.  Thos.  W.  Knox,  author  of  "  The  Boy 
Travelers,"    "The  Young  Nimrods,"    "  A  Lost  Army,"  etc.      325 
pp.     Illustrated.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

The  least  known  part  of  the  Dark  Continent  is  the  one  described  in  the  new  book 
"  In  Wild  Africa."  Central  Africa  has  been  traversed  by  many  explorers,  until  every 
part  of  it  is  known,  and  the  larger  part  of  South  Africa  has  entered  the  domain  of  civili- 
zation and  is  equipped  with  railway  and  wagon  roads.  Northern  Africa,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  strip  two  or  three  hundred  miles  wide  along  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean, 
is  almost  a  terra  incognita  ;  its  only  roads  are  caravan  trails,  and  comparatively  few 
explorers  have  ventured  to  brave  its  inhospitalities.  Lake  Chad  has  been  known  to 
exist  for  more  than  ten  centuries,  but  it  has  been  seen  by  fewer  white  men  than  Lake 
Tanganyika  and  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  both  discovered  within  the  past  forty  years. 

The  narrative  is  replete  with  adventure  and  incident,  combined  with  the  description 
of  the  countries  traversed  and  the  people  who  inhabit  them.  A  part  of  the  route  has 
been  personally  traveled  by  the  author,  who  has  thus  been  enabled  to  inform  himself 
thoroughly  concerning  the  countries  he  has  described. 

No  author  understands  better  how  to  write  for  young  people  than  Colonel  Knox, 
and  parents  and  guardians  owe  much  to  him  for  conveying  a  vast  deal  of  very  useful  in- 
formation, geographical  and  historical,  respecting  the  manners  and  customs  of  foreign 
nations. — Boston  Commercial  Biillethi. 

We  can  hardly  imagine  a  better  way  of  imparting  information  to  young  people.  The 
present  volume  is  similar  in  plan  to  those  which  preceded  it,  and  is  worthy  of  the  same 
hearty  commendation  which  was  accorded  them. —  Christian  Intelligencer,  N.  Y. 


F 


OREMAN  JENNIE.  A  Young  Woman  of  Business. 
By  Amos  R.  Wells,  editor  of  The  Golden  Rule.  268  pp.  Illus- 
trated.    Cloth,  $1.25. 

Foreman  Jennie  was  a  young  woman  of  business;  she  was  also  a  young  woman  who 
was  an  out  and  out  Christian,  and  nobly  strove  to  live  up  to  her  ideals.  She  wa-,>  the 
moving  spirit  in  the  formation  of  the  Printers'  Christian  Endeavor  Society,  whose 
struggles  form  one  of  the  interesting  features  of  the  story.  It  was  received  most  heartily 
when  it  ran  as  a  serial  in  T/u;  Golden  Rule.  In  its  present  form  it  is  greatly  en- 
larged, containing  twice  as  much  matter  as  originally.  It  is  a  splendid  story  for  young 
people,  whether  they  belong  to  the  Christian  Endeavor  movement  or  not. 

Q  UARTERDECK  6-  FOK'SLE.     By  Molly  Elliot 

cs^^     Seawell,  author  of  "  Paul  Jones,"  "  Midshipman    Paulding," 
"  Little  Jarvis,"  etc.     272  pp.     Illustrated.     $1.25. 

Two  exceptionally  interesting  stories  of  our  navy,  written  for  boys,  but  which  will 
be  of  equal  interest  to  girls,  as  well  as  older  readers.  The  first  story  tells  of  how  a 
young  fellow,  who  hated  study  and  had  never  been  made  to  go  to  school,  learned  the 
lesson  of  self-control,  and  by  a  series  of  disgraceful  failures  to  pass  nis  examinations  for 
Annapoli=,  found  by  experience  that  the  important  things  of  this  world  are  accomplished 
only  by  the  hardest  kind  of  work.  The  success  which  came  to  him  afterwards  shows 
how  thoroughly  and  well  this  lesson  was  learned.  The  second  story  deals  with  a 
famous  incident  of  the  English  occupation  of  Newport,  R.  I.,  during  ihe  Revolutionary 
War,  where  General  Prescott  was  captured  in  his  own  house  by  a  handful  of  Americans. 
An  important  part  in  this  incident  was  taken  by  a  boy.  What  he  did  and  how  he  did  it 
Is  fully  told  in  the  story.  His  service  in  the  young  American  navy  is  the  natural  result 
of  his  love  for  the  sea  and  his  ardent  patriotism. 

The  author  knows  how  to  tell  her  stories  to  captivate  the  boys,  and  the  character  of 
her  heroes  is  such  as  to  elevate  and  ennoble  the  reader. —  H artford  Evening  Post. 

BOSTON,  W.  A.   WILDE  &  CO.,  25  BROMFIELD  ST. 


W.  A.  WILDE  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS. 


Cr'HE    YOUNG  REPORTER.      A    Story   of  Frhiting 
-^       Hotise  Square.     By    WiLLlAM    Drysdale,    author    of    "Abel 
P'orefinger,"  "  In  Sunny  Lands,"  "  Proverbs  from  Plymouth  Pul- 
pit," etc.     300  pp.     Illustrated.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

Every  American  boy  who  reads  the  newspapers  is  interested  in  the  methods  and 
adventures  of  the  reporters  who  gather  news  for  the  great  dailies.  They  go  everywhere, 
meet  all  the  prominent  people  of  the  time,  and  are  constantly  in  the  front  of  every- 
thing that  is  interesting  and  exciting. 

In  "  The  Young  Reporter  "  Mr.  William  Drysdale  has  described  the  adventures  of 
a  young  prniter  boy  with  a  taste  for  newspaper  work,  who  became  a  reporter  for  one  of 
the  great  New  York  dailies  when  he  was  only  eighteen.  His  introduction  to  the  office 
by  taking  in  an  important  piece  of  news,  his  early  experience  there,  his  trials  and  temp- 
tations, his  adventures  among  the  convicts  in  Sing  Sing,  his  exciting  search  for  the 
stolen  body  of  a  millionaire,  his  voyage  to  Mexico  and  the  West  Indies,  his  experience 
with  bookmakers,  who  consider  a  reporter  a  person  to  be  bribed,  are  all  described  to  the 
life. 

Every  adventure  through  which  Dick  Sumner  is  taken  is  an  actual  adventure, — 
something  that  has  really  happened.  From  his  first  visit  to  the  Transport  office  till  his 
successful  production  of  "The  Through  Sleeper,"  his  experiences  are  as  true  to  life  as 
actual  truth  can  make  them.  It  is  a  book  which  no  boy  can  read  without  having  his 
ambition  stirred  and  his  character  strengthened. 

rHREE  COLONIAL  BOYS.  A  Story  of  the  Times 
of  '76.  By  Everett  T.  Tomlinson,  author  of  "  The  Search 
for  Andrew  Field,"  "The  Boy  Soldiers  of  1812,"  etc.  368 
pp.     Illustrated.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

We  have  issued  this  book  as  an  aid  in  the  solution  of  that  difficult  problem,  "  What 
shall  our  young  people  read?" 

It  deals  with  one  of  the  most  interesting  periods  of  American  history,  and  em- 
braces many  incidents  and  regions  which  heretofore  have  been  kept  in  the  background. 

Young  people  like  excitement,  as  children  crave  sugar,  and,  while  the  book  deals 
largely  with  actual  experiences,  it  furnishes  an  excitement  which  is  not  born  of  the  un- 
natural or  impossible. 

It  is  a  story  of  three  boys  who  were  drawn  into  the  events  of  the  times;  is  patriotic, 
exciting,  clean,  and  healtliful,  and  instructs  without  appearing  to.  The  heroes  are 
manly  boys  and  no  objectionable  language  or  character  is  introduced.  The  lessons  of 
courage  and  patriotism  especially  will  be  appreciated  in  this  day. 

It  is  handsomely  illustrated,  printed,  and  bound,  and  we  are  confident  will  be 
eagerly  welcomed  by  all  who  are  seeking  for  a  book  for  young  people  which  shall  be 
wholesome,  interesting,  healthfully  exciting,  and  at  the  same  time  instructive. 

It  is  the  first  of  a  series,  but  is  complete  in  itself. 

r^AP'N  THISTLETOP.  By  Sophie  Swett,  author  of 
^  "  Captain  Polly,"  "  Flying  Hill  Farm,"  "  Mate  of  the  Mary  Ann," 
etc.  266  pp.  Illustrated.  $1.25. 
Sopliie  Swett  has  won  a  remarkable  and  deserved  popularity  for  the  strong  and 
wholesome  stories  for  girls  which  she  has  written.  In  her  stories  she  believes  in  intro- 
ducing bovs,  and  it  is  this  feature  of  her  work  that  gives  her  stories  tlTeir  naturalness  and 
much  of  their  interest.  In  her  latest  book,  "  Cap'n  Thistleto'p,"  the  principal  char- 
acters are  a  boy  and  a  girl,  brother  and  sister;  the  girl's  firmness  of  character 
holds  her  brother  up  to  his  work  for  making  a  place  for  himself  in  the  world.  She  urges, 
beguiles,  and  compels,  as  occasion  serves,  but  still  remains  the  natural,  lovable  girl,  her- 
self, so  many  thousands  of  whom  are  daily  making  the  world  brighter, and  better. 

Margaret  E.  Sangster  says,  "  Miss  Swett  has  the  knack  of  telling  a  story  so  naturally 
and  in  so  interesting  a  manner  that  you  cannot  put  her  books  down  until  you  are  at  the 
very  end  of  the  last  chapter,  and  then  you  sigh  and  wish  there  was  a  sequel." 

BOSTON,  W.  A.   WILDE  &  CO.,  25  BROMFIELD  ST. 


W.  A.  WILDE  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS. 


^ACK  BENSON'S  LOG;  or,  Afloat  with    the   Flag 
ill '6i.    By  Chas.  Ledyard  Norton.    Illustrated.    Cloth,  $1.25. 


J 


Of  all  the  boys  who  enlisted  in  the  navy  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  perhaps 
Jack  Benson  was  the  luckiest.  His  guardian,  an  old  sailor,  vi'anted  him  to  enlist;  his 
first  ship  was  "  Old  Ironsides,"  and  he  helped  to  save  her  from  an  attempted  capture  by 
the  secessionists  at  Annapolis  in  iS6i.  Then  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  ship  on  board 
a  fast  little  steamer  that  was  hurried  in'o  commission  for  blockading  purposes  and  had  a 
very  pretty  little  tight  off  Cape  Hatteras,  and  captured  a  prize  at  the  very  beginning  of 
her  career.  In  short,  Jack  was  on  hand  as  a  spectator,  if  not  as  a  participant,  at  most  of 
the  notable  naval  events  that  took  place  on  the  Atlantic  coast  during  the  four  years 
(if  the  war. 


r 


'HE  M  YSTERIO  US  VO  YA  GE  OF  THE  DAPHNE, 

By  Lieut.   H.   P.  Whitmarsh,   R.   N.,    and   others.       305  pp. 

Illustrated.     Cloth,  $1.25. 

A  book  of  stories  for  boys  and  girls  by  some  of  the  best  American  authors.  Such 
names  as  \Vm.  O.  Stoddard,  Hezekiah  Butterworth,  James  G.  Austin,  Lieut.  H.  P. 
Whitmarsh,  Marjorie  Richardson,  and  Emma  H.  Nason  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the 
■reputation  and  the  standing  of  the  writers  whose  stories  are  included  in  this  book.  The 
book  is  made  exceptionally  interesting  by  a  large  number  of  illustrations,  while  the 
quality  of  the  stories  cannot  be  questioned.  The  book  is  one  that  we  can  recommend 
as  entirely  safe  to  put  in  any  girl's  or  boy's  hands. 

T^IG  CYPRESS.     By    Kirk  Mux\roe,  author   of  "Fur 

-*-'     Seal's    Tooth,"  "Camp-mates,"  "Raft-mates,"  "Dory-mates," 

"  Canoe-mates,"  etc.     164  pp.     Illustrated.     Cloth,  $1.00. 

Kirk  Munroe's  books  always  teach  something  worth  knowing.  In  his  last  story, 
"  Big  Cypress,"  the  author  includes  a  large  amount  of  information  about  Florida,  its 
coast,  the  Everglades  region,  the  climate,  and  the  Seminole  Indians  as  they  are  to-day 
mn^  The  story  is  so  fascinating  that  it  will  hold  the  absorbed  attention  of  every  boy  and 
girl  reader  to  the  end. —  Bosiott  Transcrifit. 

A  bright,  wide-awake  book  as  interesting  and  helpful  for  girls  as  for  boys. —  Golden 
Rule. 

A  vivid  picture  of  life  among  the  Seminole  Indians  of  Florida,  about  whom  so  little 
is  known. —  Advance,  Chicago. 

A  story  *  *  *  inculcating  manliness  and  full  of  incident. —  Congregationalist. 

pHILIP  LEICESTER.  By  Jessie  E.  Wright,  author 
-*  of  "  Freshman  and  Senior,"  "  Marj'oribank,"  "  Curly  Head,"  etc. 
264  pp.     Illustrated.     Cloth,  $1.25. 

The  real  motive  of  the  story  is  a  lesson  for  mothers, —  that  God  will  be  with  the 
children  of  love  and  prayer,  even  though  they  may  be  passing  through  the  fires  of  temp- 
tation and  bad  influence. —  T/ie  Evangelist,  New  i^ork. 

The  book  ought  to  make  any  reader  thankful  for  a  good  home  and  thoughtful  for 
the  homeless  and  neglected. — Golden  Rule. 

The  idea  of  the  story  is  happily  conceived  and  skilfully  handled.— 5'.  S.  Library 
Bulletin. 

There  is  real  merit  in  the  story. —  Efivorth  Herald. 

A  charming  story  for  young  people. —  Vonng  Men^s  Era. 

The  interest  of  the  reader  is  engaged  and  never  flags  until  the  last  page  is  read.— 
Christian  Observer . 

BOSTON,  W.  A.  WILDE  &  CO..  25  BROMFIELD  ST. 


W.  A.  WILDE  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS. 


P 


ELOUBET'S  SELECT  AZOTES.  By  F.  N.  Pelou- 
BET,  D.  D.,  and  M.  A.  Peloubet.  A  Commentary  on  the  Inter- 
national Sunday-School  Lessons.      Illustrated.     340  pp.     Cloth, 

11.25. 

This  commentary  is  the  one  book  every  teacher  must  have  in  order  to  do  the  best 
work.  It  interprets  the  scripture,  illustrates  the  truths,  and  by  striking  comments  con- 
vinces the  mind. 

It  is  comprehensive,  and  yet  not  verbose,  and  furnishes  winnovt'ed  material  in  the 
most  attractive  and  yet  convincing  form  from  both  spiritual  and  practical  standpoints. 
Accurate  colored  maps  and  profuse  original  illustrations  illuminate  the  text,  and  create 
an  intelligent  and  instructive  view  of  the  subject  matter. 

Teachers  are  invited  to  send  for  sample  pages  of  Select  Notes. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  better  help  on  the  International  Lessons  has  ever  been 
printed  than  Select  Notes. —  Christian  at  Work. 

We  know  of  no  other  book  that  fills  the  place  of  Select  Notes. —  Golden  Rule. 

Teachers  and  scholars  have  coine  to  regard  Select  Notes  as  an  essential  part  of  their 
annual  Sunday-school  outfit. —  Cnmberlaiid  I'reshyterian. 

Select  Notes  has  become  as  much  of  an  institution  as  the  International  Lessons. — 
Advance. 

Select  Notes  is  current  everywhere.  Among  the  many  books  issued  as  helps  to  the 
study  of  the  Sunday-school  lessons  this  is  the  best. — Messiah's  Herald. 

TJ7A  YS  OF  WORKING ;  or.  Helpful  Hints  to  Siaiday- 

School  Workers   of  all  Kinds.     By  Rev.  A.  F.  Schauffler, 

D.  D.     212  pp.     Cloth,  $1.00. 

All  the  methods  of  <vork  suggested  in  the  following  pages  have  been  tried  and  ap- 
proved by  the  author.  There  is  nothing  that  is  merely  theoretical.  Many  things  other 
than  those  alluded  to  have  also  been  tried,  and,  having  proved  failures,  have  been  laid 
aside.  Nothing  but  what  came  through  the  fire  of  experience  unscathed  has  been 
dwelt  upon.  Not  all  the  methods  recommended  have  been  originated  by  the  author. 
In  fact,  the  land  was  ransacked  during  the  time  of  his  actual  superintendency  for  help- 
ful methods,  and  wherever  these  were  found  they  were  adopted.  Sometimes  they  had 
to  be  adapted,  as  well  as  adopted,  and  this  will  probably  be  the  case  in  many  schools 
who  try  to  take  up  with  some  of  the  forms  suggested.  But  if  the  suggestions  given  here 
serve  to  stimulate  others  in  the  line  of  advance,  the  aim  of  the  book  will  have  been 
?ccomplished. —  A  idhor''s  Pre/ace. 

Cr'HE  GOSPELS  COMBINED.     Compiled   by   Rev. 
Charles  H.  Pope.     208  pp.     Cloth,  75c. 

Parallel  passages  blended,  and  separate  accounts  connected;  presenting  in  one  con- 
tinuous narrative  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ  as  told  by  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John. 

This  book  will  be  the  best  help  to  a  clear  connected  view  of  the  life  and  words  of 
our  Lord.     Just  the  thing  for  every  Sunday-school  Teacher  and  Bible  Class  Student. 

cr'HE  BEACON  LLGHT  SERLES.     By  Natalie  L. 

Rice.     Illustrated.     Each  vol.  96  pp. 

A  collection  of  bright,  attractive  stories  from  the  best  known  writers  for  young 
people  in  the  Junior  and  Intermediate  classes.    The  set,  5  vols.,  in  a  box,  ;j2.5o. 


D 


OrS  LIBRARY.     Edited  by  Lucy  Wheelock. 

Without  question  the  most  delightful  set  of  books  for  little  ones.     Over  400 
illustrations.     The  set,  10  vols.,  in  a  box,   $2.50. 

BOSTON,  W.  A.   WILDE  &  CO.,  25  BROMFIELD  ST. 


RARE  BOOK 
COLLECTION 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT 

CHAPEL  HILL 


Wilmer 
836 


f,  ,.,.  hn  . 


"ii.ti' 


i%.»!iissi 


